Of Preparations and Probabilities
by Forrester
Summary: Reno centric story. Features most major characters from Final Fantasy VII and is my own interpretation of a follow-up story. For those of you who have waited way too long for me to finish, I'm sorry. Thank you all for the reviews, I really appreciate them
1. Prologue

Disclaimer- I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of Square-Enix's characters or places. Just trying to have a little fun  
  
"Sir, I think you should come with us." The officer stepped toward the dark corner of the alley uncertainly, his partner standing nervously behind. For a moment there was nothing but the darkness. Suddenly a lit match illuminated a pale face framed by red hair deeper than the flame itself, and as quickly as it was struck, the match went out. All that remained visible was the mouth closed around the cigarette, curling into a lopsided smirk.  
  
"I think you should go fuck yourself."  
  
The answer came sharply, with mirth unusual for a man with two loaded rifles aimed at him.  
  
"You have the ri..."  
  
The officer was cut off by the sound of electricity crackling through the air, as a sparkling blue light flashed out somewhere near his suspect's leg, spreading an eerie, inconsistent glow about the two officers, the man, and a downed body laying just behind him.  
  
"You know, I once knew a hooker named Miranda. Tried to kill me. I suppose she thought it'd be easier than screwing me. Probably true. Turns out she didn't have many rights in the end, though. Care to take a guess where she is now?"  
  
"John? I...I think we should let this one go" John turned his head slightly towards his partner. They had both recognized the blue suit and red hair the moment that nightstick flared to life. "A bar fight isn't really worth this, man." The nod that followed was almost imperceptible as John began stepping backwards before completely turning heel and tearing out of the alley, the other officer close behind.  
  
"You done?" The deep voice resounded along the alley from its origin within a doorway. The nightstick clicked off.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. I think I left a drink inside anyway and we can get this guy later. Fuck man, why do we always come here? I don't even like the classy part of Junon, nevermind the slums. Too much like Midgar."  
  
"I like the card playing."  
  
"Rude man, you'd like the Northern Crater if there were a damn card game there. Though, I do remember hearing Sephiroth had a killer poker face. Course, people coulda just been saying that so he wouldn't, y'know...cut them or something. That's another thing, what was with that fucking sword? Who the hell needs something that big? Strife too, that bloody tree-hugger. Between the two of them, they ask the age-old question 'Wider or longer?' Personally, I like to think I'm a..." The voice trailed off and was drowned in noise emanating from inside the building, as his friend closed the door behind them. ________________________________________________________________________  
  
Three years in a row, they all met. Nobody was reminded where to go, nobody was reminded when they had to be there. Nobody needed to be. But without fail, for three years they had each met in the same spot on the same day. AVALANCHE stood at the water's edge, not a word spoken amongst them, as they each mourned their own way. Barret had his arm protectively around Tifa's shoulders, who cried softly, yet silently to herself. Vincent stood off to the side, beside a cigaretteless Cid, as he adamantly refused his urges to smoke for fear of disturbing the holy air. Red stood between Reeve and a teary-eyed Yuffie, the young girl sniffling and taking deep breaths to hold back the tears. All eyes settled on the last member of their group, the blond-haired leader knee deep in the pond outside the Cetra capital. In his hands he held a single flower. The voice, though barely a whisper, shattered the silence. Nature itself had seemed to stop and listen.  
  
"Aeris. To you, we owe everything. To you, the world owes everything. And to you, we, all of us here, send you our thanks. More importantly, we send you our love." He hesitated "I send you my love." Cloud lowered himself, and placed the single flower on the water. "From your church to you. It's the least we could do" The flower floated away from the shore and away from the group. Cloud's voice rose up once more. "We love you."  
  
A mournful howl tore out of Red as Tifa's crying intensified and Yuffie's began. Cloud stepped out of the water backwards, the motion disturbingly similar to one repeated three years ago. He turned around to face his companions, the ones he considered family. Cid's shaking hands placed an unlit cigarette in his mouth before removing it again. Barrett's own eyes began to tear, as Vincent stared out into the water. Cloud placed a reassuring hand on Reeve's shoulder as the older man trembled.  
  
"Let's go home."  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
The Turks had set up shop in the shadier side of Wutai mere months after Meteor had been destroyed. While the business wasn't as profitable, it was much cleaner. A surveillance mission here, a theft there and Reno was happy. Though he was, self-admittedly, a little happier when somebody needed to be beaten down. But all in all, Reno, Rude, and Elena were pleased with the lack of killings that had come up. Sure, they'd killed more in the last year than most people do in a lifetime, but it was a damned sight less than what they did working for Shin-ra. And Elena seemed to have a knack for finding targets that deserved to die. Reno was feeling a little self-conscious though. Last week some guy in the bar called the Turks soft. 'Sure, they found him strapped to the top of the Pagoda the next day, naked and dead. But it just gets me thinking.'  
  
"Hey Rude... have we gone soft?"  
  
"No."  
  
"I don't like to think so either. It's just...well, that punk got me thinking." Elena spoke up from her desk.  
  
"The Pagoda one?"  
  
"Yeah, that's him."  
  
"I never did ask, but how the hell did you get him up there anyway."  
  
"Well, now that's just not important. I gotta say though, it was worth getting bitched out by Yuffie by the reaction we got from going into the bar that night. Did you see how pale everyone went?"  
  
"Yes, I did...Wait, Yuffie bitched you out?"  
  
"Well, they couldn't really prove it was me. But she's not stupid, she knew who it was."  
  
"She still have a crush on you?" Elena leaned forward with a mischievous grin.  
  
"Who doesn't." She laughed.  
  
"You still have a crush on her?" Reno glared at his bald friend, who didn't even look up from his work.  
  
"You are one silly son of a bitch, you know that? But seriously, are we going soft?"  
  
"I don't know. I don't think so. But without Shin-ra and Hojo around, I know you two aren't as merciless..." At the mention of Hojo's name, the two male Turks looked up. Elena realized she'd said the wrong thing and trailed off. Rude's head turned back to his desk, but Reno's glare lingered a moment longer, the warning hanging wordlessly in the air. Then he too turned back, and work resumed in silence.  
  
"She's right you know." Rude simply kept writing as he spoke. "I feel different about some of the stuff we do. I actually feel." Sometime during this last sentence, Rude had looked up into his partner's eyes. "And I know you do too. I can see it in your eyes. We don't just drink to have a good time anymore..." Reno picked up where he left off.  
  
"We drink to forget..." 


	2. Chapter 1 Be it Ever So Humble

Chapter 1 - Be it Ever So Humble.  
  
The Highwind touched down outside of Rocket Town behind Cid and Shera's home. Just as gathering together outside the Forgotten Capital had become tradition, so had returning to the small town afterwards for a reunion of sorts. No matter how you got up north, you would come back in the Highwind. The ride back had been long enough for the airship's occupants to dispel their sadness and begin to enjoy each other's company.  
  
The beginning of the party was reserved for catching up with each other as they went around the room. It seemed childish to some, Yuffie the most vocal on it, but it was agreed to at least be easier than having every person recount the last year of their lives six or seven different times. Many of the stories remained nearly unchanged from the previous year, but it delighted Tifa to hear about each and everything. Barret still worked hard to bring Corel back on it's feet, but surprisingly enough, the massive man had turned down a nomination for mayor of the small town.  
  
"I jus' didn't need something else keepin me away from Marlene." was the only response the media got, and it was the only response AVALANCHE would get. The group knew Barret's feelings toward his adoptive daughter, and all of them believed that he made the right decision. But they also knew nothing could keep him from his town for very long, and every opportunity possible, Barret was concentrating on the future of Corel. Cloud still insisted that his friend would ultimately end up the mayor of the quickly growing town.  
  
Cid, Reeve and Red however, had all become political leaders, and Yuffie was on her way. At first, Cid too had turned down the position, but was convinced when the mob arrived at his doorstep. And Shera let them in. The old pilot had been concerned that with the responsibilities of mayor he would be forced to ignore the rebuilding of his rocket, but the people insisted that without the rocket, there would be no Rocket Town. And without Cid, there would be no rocket. So, residents of Rocket Town made sure the resources were there for the Shin-ra number 27. Soon after his inaugural address, Cid had proposed to Shera. The marriage had been held 3 months after.  
  
As for the remainder of Shin-ra, all that survived of the old corporation was the name. To keep the old title was the widely criticized decision of Reeve. But as the new president, it was undeniably his call to make. Within his first 6 months of presidency, Reeve turned the company around and through a risky investment, financed the discovery of an experimental energy source called electricity. With the exclusive rights to the world's only reliable power source, the AVALANCHE member was in a position to create a global monopoly, with a majority of the money going straight into his pocket. But with his next move, anyone's fears of a new Rufus were quickly removed. Reeve made the technology for electricity public information, and gave out loans for companies within the other towns to get their businesses up and running independently of Shin-ra Incorporated. While the company itself lost a majority of potential profits, it also no longer had as many branches to fund. Most of the science department was moved to research, development, and repair, urban development became a public records department, and the military became the equivalent of Junon's police force after it's losses during the Meteor incident. All in all, the company made more than enough money to support itself and the city of Junon. The ruins of Midgar however, still scarred the eastern continent, as a permanent solution had not been approved yet. Reeve himself had been partial to reconstruction, but the general populace was too conflicted between reparation and destruction for him to make a decision.  
  
Red had returned home to Cosmo Canyon after the Meteor incident and became his ancestral home's new protector. The canyon itself had changed little throughout the year, becoming perhaps a little more admissible to outsiders. Red himself took care of Bugenhagen's lab and major directorial decisions, but most of the administration was left to the elders remaining, as the fire beast's first responsibility was protection from the natural monsters and would sometimes wander into the area and attack the region's inhabitants.  
  
Cloud and Tifa had moved out to Kalm after the group had parted ways. It had been right after the last reunion when the two finally admitted that they loved each other, and promptly moved in together. Cid had said it best. "Like a goddamn fairy tale. 'Cept you fuck ups ain't married yet." Shera had been quick to defend the young couple though.  
  
"It took you 12 years, buddy." Cid simply muttered to himself and lit a cigarette.  
  
Expectedly, Vincent was the hardest to get information out of. Tifa practically had to pry answers from him, but while he seemed as cold as ever, she could see the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he listened to the others stories.  
  
"Vincent, why don't you tell us about your year so far?"  
  
"It has been uninteresting. It would be rude for me to bore you all." Tifa put a hand on her hip and pouted.  
  
"Oh come on now, there has to be more to it. Do you still live in Nibleheim?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh Gawd, not in that stupid fucking coffin right? That shit is soooo creepy." All eyes fell on Yuffie in suprise. Cid gave her a thumbs up. Tifa punched him in the arm.  
  
"Look what you've taught her. Now she swears all the time." Realization dawned on Yuffie's face as it occurred to her why she was receiving such odd looks. As much as she wanted to see Cid get pummeled by both Tifa and his wife, Yuffie felt talking about her new acquaintances would prove much more entertaining. Provided Barret didn't attack her. But, even then. She laughed to herself before speaking up.  
  
"Actually, Cid isn't exactly the source of my kickass new vocabulary." Now even Cid gave her a skeptical look. "I've kinda got some new friends...that you guys know. Kinda. Sorta." Tifa's eyes went from curious to suspicious, when she saw how Yuffie was looking at the floor.  
  
"So, who?" Yuffie looked up at Tifa sheepishly before looking away again.  
  
"Ummm...the Turks." The room exploded into a flurry of noise.  
  
___________________________________________________________________  
  
"Put it down." Rude stared his best friend in the eyes, his words spoken with a menace backed by his huge form as he took a slow step forward.  
  
"No." The one word answer was too serious to be coming from Reno. Rude stopped for a moment and questioned if this could truly be his partner of years, the man who'd saved his life so many times. Whose life he'd saved before so many times. But there was no doubt about it.  
  
"You can't do this. You'll only end up hurting yourself."  
  
"That won't stop me, man. You know that I have to do it." Rude looked up at Reno again. The tension hung in the air as an almost physical presence. What was said next would be the key to diffusing the entire situation. Rude hesitated, choosing his words carefully.  
  
"Reno, you can't staple yourself to a ceiling fan and expect it to hold you."  
  
"I dunno... I've got a lot of staples here. Besides, it'll be hilarious."  
  
"Then use your own stapler. I have work to do."  
  
"But I need your help. I can't exactly staple myself up here..." Reno trailed off looking oddly thoughtful for someone standing on a desk. "What if I staple my jacket up first, then get into it." During this inspiration a huge grin spread over the Turk's face. He was in the process of taking his suit jacket off when Elena walked in.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Reno whipped around.  
  
"Uh. Paperwork."  
  
"On top of my desk?"  
  
"Well, it is your paperwork."  
  
"Go sit down." Reno hopped off the desk grumbling about one thing or another before plopping down in his own seat. "I met with a representative of the Alexander Electric Company today." Reno had heard of them. A couple months after Meteor, when Reeve released information regarding electricity, Corin Alexander appeared in Gongaga with plans to rebuild and a whole shit load of money to do it with. Even with on-going construction, the city wasn't up to its pre-Shin-ra standards yet. But it was getting there. "He had a job for us."  
  
"Good one?" Reno broke out of his thoughts when Rude spoke. He found Elena was looking at him with a hesitant stare.  
  
"Well. It's a really easy information grab. The place has no formal security left at all..." Reno didn't like the way she trailed off.  
  
"Elena. Where do we have to 'grab' this information from?"  
  
"Midgar. Or more specifically, the old Shin-ra building..."  
  
"What part?" Reno really didn't like the way she trailed off  
  
"Hojo's lab." He jumped up to his feet in a fit. Even Rude seemed to sit up straighter.  
  
"You told him he could fuck right off right? Right, Elena?" The blond folded her hands in front of her and looked down.  
  
"Not really." Reno practically exploded.  
  
"Why the fuck not!" The female Turk looked up at him.  
  
"He offered 500,000 gil." The change in Reno was instantaneous.  
  
"Well, now that's a little different."  
  
________________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie had been fending off questions from her friends about her involvement with the Turks for the better part of an hour. Most of them from Barret. And some of them not real questions.  
  
"What th' fuck is wrong with you?" Yuffie tried to explain herself again.  
  
"They're really not that bad anymore. I mean, right now they're just trying to make a living just like everyone else. Though maybe not in the same way." This time it was Tifa's turn.  
  
"'Not that bad?' How can you say that? They dropped the Sector Seven Plate. They're monsters, all of them. How can you defend them." Yuffie was glad this came up so late in the night. At least it didn't ruin all the good times beforehand. She sighed.  
  
"I'm not really defending them I guess. I was really suspicious when they showed up in Wutai, so I kept tabs on them for a couple weeks. They didn't do anything too bad. Nothing I wouldn't do myself, I guess." She got a stern look from Cloud. "Well, they didn't kill anybody. And they only hospitalized one guy."  
  
"Only one guy? And that's ok to you?"  
  
"Well, he did almost hit Elena with his car." Red was the next one to speak.  
  
"Yuffie, how many murders in Wutai could the Turks be connected to." Yuffie wasn't sure the answer would be too well accepted.  
  
"Murders? Almost none. Killings?" Yuffie looked out the window for a second. "A whole lot. But that's the weird thing. The targets, if the Turks did kill them, were all known drug lords or other criminals. As far as I know, they haven't killed a decent person yet. At least not in Wutai." Barret was back up again.  
  
"I don't believe that bullshit. I say they're all still scum, an you should stay away from 'em, brat." Yuffie flipped him off, but before another word could be exchanged Cloud spoke up.  
  
"Yuffie. I don't think you being friends with the Turks is a good idea." He held up a hand to silence her protest. "But it is your decision to make. We're all just concerned about any danger you might be in. What if they knew you followed them?"  
  
"They do know. I told Reno one time over dinner." Yuffie realized what she said after Cid started laughing. "Not that it was, like, a date or something. We were just hungry." Yuffie's blushed face seemed to cool down the tempers in the room and Tifa covered her mouth to stop from laughing. Cloud put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Sure, sure kid. Anyway, it's getting late. We'd better go." He walked towards the door with Tifa behind him. She stopped for a second and leaned down to whisper something to Yuffie.  
  
"Just be careful, ok?" Yuffie smiled and nodded to her. The rest of the group collectively decided it was time to go as well.  
  
Good-byes and good lucks were being exchanged by all those attending, but before Yuffie could go, Vincent approached her.  
  
"Yuffie?" She looked up at him, with a questioning expression on her face. "No, I don't live in 'that stupid fucking coffin' anymore." Yuffie's face contorted into a look of surprise at Vincent's impression of her. She looked around to see if anyone else heard, but everyone seemed too wrapped up in parting moments. When she looked back, Vincent was already out the door.  
  
"You're fucking kidding me. Nobody heard that?"  
  
________________________________________________________________  
  
"Yes...Yes...No, we won't be needing transportation. Thank you. Goodbye." Elena closed up her PHS. "Okay, we're all set. I told them we'd have it back for them by next week. When do you want to go?"  
  
"Soon as possible. I wanna be back quickly. Rude you figure out transportation yet?"  
  
"Yeah. Ferry it to Kalm. Rent something there." After Meteor left Midgar in ruins all of the surviving inhabitants spread to different cities. Unfortunately, most that could not afford to travel long distances ended up in Kalm. The small out of the way town grew into a bustling metropolis practically overnight. As a result, the populace of Kalm co- operated with Wutai to create a ferry service that ran between the two cities.  
  
"Sounds good. Elena do we know where we're going, and what we're looking for?"  
  
"I can tell you what files we're looking for, but not what it means without seeing it. From what I remember about the ruins, we'll need to restore power to the elevators and computer control banks on the 67 floor. I can access what we need from there."  
  
"Good. Looks like its back to Midgar for us. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."  
  
_________________________________________________________________  
  
"Sir, the Turks have agreed to retrieve the information for us." The secretary stood in the doorway of the huge office, glancing about nervously. He was met with silence. "M-mr. Alexander?" He stuttered.  
  
"When do they intend to leave?" The CEO of A.E.C. turned around to face his secretary with a warm smile gracing his face.  
  
"Within a few days, sir."  
  
"That soon? Spectacular. Davis, make sure AVALANCHE is contacted." Davis waited a moment for any further orders, before turning to leave. As his hand reached the doorknob, Alexander's voice called out to him again. "Oh, and do have the surveillance equipment ready by then. I would loathe to miss this show." Despite the friendly tone of voice, Davis shuddered once before closing the door behind him. 


	3. Chapter 2 There's Not Enough Alcohol in ...

Chapter 2 - There's Not Enough Alcohol in the World.  
  
Cloud looked through the kitchen window out into the plains of grass surrounding Kalm as the blades swayed with passing breezes. Tifa and he had purchased a home in a rural area of Kalm, preferring the gentle setting to the hectic city. He took another slow sip of his coffee before smiling at the appearance of Tifa in the door, standing there in her housecoat, rubbing half-closed eyes. The couple had returned from Rocket Town late last night, managing to get very little sleep. Cloud had awoken a little earlier than Tifa to make the coffee, which she poured herself a cup of.  
  
"Morning Cloud."  
  
"Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?" Tifa grinned at him.  
  
"Next to you, who wouldn't." Cloud let out a sharp bark of laughter at that.  
  
"I can't believe I had actually said that to you."  
  
"I don't know, it was kinda cute. Even if I was worried at the time that you weren't exactly...well, you."  
  
Cloud smiled once more before staring down into his mug. Tifa blew on her drink before taking a sip. She noted the faraway look her companion's eyes.  
  
"What are you thinking so intently about?" Tifa asked before playfully shoving him. Cloud rocked with the push and grinned.  
  
"I don't know. Nothing important I guess. It's just that I never did quite understand what Hojo did to me. Or to Zack."  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it. It's too late to stop it now, and Hojo's gone. You're alright now, aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah. But sometimes I can't help but wonder." He winked at her. "Plus, I'm all better thanks to you." Despite the jovial sound of his voice, Tifa still thought he looked a little distant.  
  
"Anything else on your mind?"  
  
"Yeah..." He hesitated. "I was just thinking about what Yuffie was saying last night." Tifa nodded in understanding.  
  
"You're worried that she's not being careful enough around the Turks."  
  
"Yeah, kind of. But something else she said bugged me too. Remember how she was talking about all of the Turks victims being drug lords and the like." Tifa nodded again. "Well, that just doesn't sound like the Turks to me. I'd almost expect them to be helping the other criminals, as long as they got paid for it."  
  
"So you think she was right about them having changed?" Cloud looked away in thought.  
  
"That's the thing. I don't know. I want to believe Yuffie. But she wasn't there at the pillar. She didn't see Reno push that button. Or Tseng hit Aeris..." Cloud trailed off at that, his hand clenching tightly on the table. Tifa laid her hand onto of his and felt it relax.  
  
"I want to believe her too, but I find it very hard to believe that any of the Turks have changed. Or that they would want to. Unfortunately, we just don't know for sure." Cloud nodded in agreement, and began to talk about the day's schedule. The two sat there for another hour chatting with one another before being interrupted by a phone call.  
  
"Hello? Yes, this is Cloud Strife..."  
  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie stepped over the footbridge and across the creek tossing a piece of materia between her hands. The way the sun hit the green of Ultima captivated the young ninja as she idly wondered how something so beautiful could hold so much destructive force. Pocketing the materia again, she wandered down the path to settle down beside a small pond, and closed her eyes. She started thinking about the previous nights' events. It bothered her that AVALANCHE, the people she truly considered family, didn't trust her judgment. Even during the Meteor incident, Yuffie didn't personally experience any of the Turk's supposed maliciousness. Any of the battles they fought in didn't seem too serious to her. Reno never lost that damn smirk and the only time it may have been a fight to the end was underneath Midgar. 'And they let us go without any trouble. Never mind that they helped save me and Elena from Corneo.' At that thought, Yuffie sat up and looked towards the Da-Chou Mountains. It didn't matter to her. All she knew was that the Turks seemed to be her friends. Or at the very least, certainly not her enemies. Elena always had a kind word. Rude kept to himself, but it wasn't snobbish. Reno was an asshole. But sometimes he could be alright. She remembered when she first ran into them in Wutai.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The streets were just beginning to turn dark when Yuffie stepped out of her home. The entire city of Wutai was still celebrating the destruction of Meteor, and she finally decided to join the fun. Reaching the main strip, the Lady of Wutai was quickly immersed in people. She pushed along, passing the many bars and lively establishments that were going to be open into all hours of the morning. She was about to settle on entering one that didn't seem so crowded, when a giant bald man across the road caught her attention. And it was the fiery red hair beside him that held it.  
  
"Turks?" She spoke to herself. "Why are they here."  
  
She watched the pair enter the Turtle's Paradise, and against her better judgement, followed them in moments later. Reno and Rude were waved over by Elena who already had a table ready for them. By the time they had sat down, Yuffie was already on her way over to stir up some trouble. She was speaking before she stopped moving.  
  
"What the hell do you want here?" Reno looked up at her with an amused look, before turning to his companions.  
  
"Pretty shitty service here." He looked back to Yuffie. "I'll take a double of Jack." Before Yuffie could question, Elena tapped Reno on the shoulder. He turned his head slightly.  
  
"I don't think that's the waitress. Actually, I think we know her." Reno took a better look at Yuffie before turning to Rude.  
  
"Dude...Is that the ninja chick? The one with the legs?" Elena buried her face in her hand and shook her head. Rude simply shrugged. "Ah, you're no help." He looked back to the flabbergasted Yuffie, before looking down. Then up. Then down again, before reluctantly raising his eyes back to meet hers. "Definitely the ninja chick with the legs. How's it goin?" Yuffie composed herself.  
  
"The name is Yuffie. And I asked you a question. What do you want here in Wutai." Reno smirked at her.  
  
"Needed somewhere to go. I guess I could tell you about it. But you'd have to join us for drinks first." He winked.  
  
"Reno." Yuffie started. "There's not enough alcohol in the world." Reno seemed unfazed, but Elena laughed before speaking.  
  
"Go ahead, take a seat. It'll be kind of nice to have another female at the table." The warm smile seemed inviting, and Yuffie had already lost most of her anger when they hadn't simply stood up and tried to shoot her. She pulled up a chair, and got lost in the conversation.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yuffie had been walking as she'd been thinking to herself, and found herself in the general area of the Turks' main office. Shrugging, she turned down a side street and headed directly there.  
  
___________________________________________________________________  
  
"Are you certain you can't complete the project without Hojo's notes?" Alexander stood in the lowest lab of A.E.C. surrounded by research equipment and computer banks. A specimen tube filled with mako cast an eerie green glow across the head of the science department's face, adding an effect to the smile that made it seem all the more inviting.  
  
"Of course I'm certain. Hojo was no Gast, but the creature had his moments. That information is essential to the success of these experiments." Alexander smiled at his personal scientist. He couldn't help but be attracted to the woman. Intelligence, beauty and a personality to her he'd never seen before in a woman.  
  
"Wonderful, Dr. Howari. If you're almost done tonight, I don't suppose I could interest you in dinner?" The charming smile was back again. To Corin Alexander there was only one thing she didn't have.  
  
"I don't think that would be a very good idea." She had no interest.  
  
"Still caught up on that old husband of yours? Some times you need to let sleeping dogs lie. Dead ones too." Alexander entered the elevator a moment after the bitter words had been spoken. He was gone before an answer was given.  
  
"You may be right, Mr. Alexander. On the other hand, if this works, even the dead ones won't need to lie for much longer.  
  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
"No Cloud, I'm sorry, Lady Yuffie isn't in right now." Shake spoke into the receiver of the PHS. Cloud was on the other end of the line in Kalm.  
  
"Has she gotten home from Rocket Town yet?" Cloud was mildly concerned.  
  
"Yes, she returned early this morning, before heading back out."  
  
"Do you know where she went?"  
  
"Unfortunately, no. She's not one to give details on her whereabouts."  
  
"No, I guess not. Ok, thanks Shake. You'll tell her to call when she gets back?"  
  
"Certainly. Good day."  
  
"Bye." Cloud closed off the connection, pocketed the PHS and turned to Tifa. "She's not home right now. Shake said he didn't know where she was, but he'll get her to call as soon as possible." Tifa nodded.  
  
"I guess we'll have to wait and see. Odin, I hope that call was wrong." Cloud wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her.  
  
"Me too."  
  
__________________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie silently opened the window and crawled through. The ninja made it her goal to try and surprise the Turks in their own homes, offices, bars, wherever she could find them and at every opportunity she could. She knew she had it this time though. Her entry had been flawless and she hadn't made a sound. All she had to do now was open this last door and drop down on Reno's desk. Then hope they didn't shoot her. The door opened with no protesting squeaks or groans, she pleasantly noted, and she stepped through the door to face three gun barrels pointed at her head.  
  
"It's just the fucking pest." Reno already had his gun re-holstered and was on his way back down to the lower level of the room. Yuffie pouted.  
  
"How'd you guys know I was here?" Rude shrugged and pointed to the window she had come through.  
  
"Silent alarm." He too returned to his desk leaving Yuffie with Elena. The blonde spoke up first.  
  
"C'mon, let's grab you some coffee. I need a break anyway." The two women headed over to the kitchenette set up in one of the back rooms. Elena pulled two mugs from the shelf and poured her and Yuffie equal amounts of the black liquid. Elena handed one to the younger girl and propped herself up against a counter. "So what brings you out today?" Yuffie sat down.  
  
"I found myself in the neighborhood, and thought I'd try my luck at sneaking in. Reno didn't seem very happy to see me. A little more annoyed than usual anyway."  
  
"Don't worry about it. You know how irritable he gets before going on a trip. I swear it's like PMS for him." The two laughed together before a voice yelled out to them from the other room.  
  
"Would you two shut the fuck up in there?" The girls quieted down and the laughter faded off quickly.  
  
"So where are you guys going anyway? Looks pretty dangerous from the hardware you had laid out on the table back there." Elena looked over at her apologetically.  
  
"Sorry, Yuff. You know I can't tell you that." Yuffie crossed her arms. Elena held her hands up and immediately defended herself. "Not my rules."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Big, bad Reno doesn't trust me."  
  
"It's not that. Well, maybe a little. But it has a lot to do with protecting the Turks reputation of confidentiality." Yuffie stood from her seat at the table, a grin crossing her features as she started off into the other room.  
  
"Well, let's see what I can do anyway." She walked up to Reno's desk before sitting on the corner and smiling at him sweetly. "Reno?"  
  
"Brat." Reno deadpanned. Yuffie continued, ignoring the insult.  
  
"Where are you guys going?" Reno rolled his eyes. Yuffie leaned a little closer. "You know you can trust me."  
  
"No." Yuffie feigned confusion.  
  
"No, what?"  
  
"No, I won't tell you where we're going. No, I don't know that I can trust you. And no, you can't come."  
  
"I wasn't going to ask if I could come." Reno gave her a skeptical look. "Really, I swear. I'll have you know I have very important work to do around here. I was just curious."  
  
"You're an idiot." Yuffie seemed to take great offence to the uncalled for verbal assault.  
  
"Asshole." Reno smirked before leaning up to Yuffie's ear. Once again curious, Yuffie pulled herself closer to his mouth.  
  
"You're cute when you're mad." A blush crept over the ninja's face as she pulled back in surprise. Reno winked at her before leaning back in his chair and laughing to himself. "Now would you get going already? We have some details to work out." Yuffie pushed herself off of the desk and stood in front of him.  
  
"Fine. When are you guys leaving anyway? Or is that information top secret too." Again the red head rolled his eyes.  
  
"In a couple hours actually. So if you'd be so kind." Reno pointed to the door.  
  
"Jerk." Yuffie said under her breath before following the direction he indicated. She spoke a little louder to Reno. "I hope you shoot yourself in the foot." Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him while he flipped her off, before turning to Elena. "Bye 'Lena. Good luck." Yuffie opened the door and waved to Rude, who nodded slightly in response. The AVALANCHE member stepped out of the building and into the Wutai streets.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie returned home a couple hours later to find a note sitting by her PHS.  
  
Lady Yuffie,  
Cloud Strife called earlier from his home in Kalm looking for you. He seemed to have something to speak to you about very urgently. I suggest you reply once you receive this note.  
Shake  
  
"What could Cloud want? I just saw him last night." Yuffie spoke to herself. She couldn't help the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Picking up the PHS, she dialed quickly waiting for a response.  
  
"Cloud? Yeah, it's Yuffie. Yeah, I know where it is. No, they're gone..." Yuffie face blanched as she listened. "They went where?" 


	4. Chapter 3 This is such a bad fucking id...

I've changed where I was going with this, so the title's been adjusted. Titleless didn't seem to fit anymore.  
  
Chapter 3 - This is such a bad fucking idea.  
  
"Midgar. They've gone to Midgar." Cloud answered Yuffie's question with no irritation. He had been skeptical when he first heard too. His friend's voice came back low, as if she didn't want to hear an answer to her question.  
  
"Why...why did they go to Midgar?" Cloud took a quick breath before speaking again.  
  
"They've gone to Hojo's lab. To get some kind of notes. Something about mako reconstruction I think he said."  
  
"Who's 'he'?" The ninja sounded confused. Cloud hadn't had an opportunity to explain the mysterious phone call he had received that morning.  
  
"Tifa and I were talking this morning when the phone rang. It turns out it was someone from Alexander Power Company. He said that the Turks had been hired to go to Hojo's old labs in Midgar and retrieve some information and that they would be leaving soon. He didn't know who the employer is for sure though." Cloud paused for any questions.  
  
"Why would he call you?"  
  
"He said I was the fastest way to contact Reeve without a lot of background questions. Apparently, he's suspicious of it being somebody from A.E.C. and didn't want his identity to be known. He thought that Reeve would ask a lot a questions to validate his story. I thought it was pretty questionable when he told me. That's why I decided to call you, to see if you could talk to the Turks and see what was going on."  
  
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway. They don't tell me where they go, or what they do. All I know is that they left here about an hour ago. Do you think we should trust this anonymous caller?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I'm going to call Reeve once I get off the phone with you. If he can't do anything himself. Well, I guess we'll have to get the team together to go check it out."  
  
"We would really need to go?"  
  
"I'm hesitant too, but if the call was true, then we can't let that information go to anyone. If it wasn't, then we've done nothing more than waste a little time, right?" Yuffie was nodding to herself on the other end of the line.  
  
"I guess you're right. I still don't like it though."  
  
"Neither do I, but I'd better get ahold of Reeve. I'll call back once I know a little more about our course of action."  
  
"Thanks, Cloud. Bye. Oh, and tell Tifa I say 'hi.'" Cloud smiled at the addition.  
  
"I will. Talk to you soon." The line went dead and Cloud turned to fill Tifa in on the situation. "The Turks are apparently already gone, but they didn't tell her where they were going. Oh, she says hi too. Right now, I'm going to call Reeve about it." Tifa nodded to him.  
  
"And what if he can't do anything?" Cloud gave a grim look.  
  
"Then I guess its back to Midgar."  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ _  
  
Yuffie placed the PHS back down onto her dresser with a touch of concern. She knew that the Turks wouldn't do anything to spread Hojo's work. They knew the repercussions that could have, didn't they? Doubt gripped her mind as she thought to herself. 'It would take a lot of money to send anyone into Midgar, especially the Turks. But for a lot of money, they'd do anything wouldn't they?" The ninja grimaced before a determined look settled in her eyes and she thought quickly. 'To get to Midgar, the only route is basically through Kalm. And out of Wutai, the easiest way there is on the ferry.' A smile broke out over her young features before she bolted for the door.  
  
"Oh Man, is Reno gonna be pissed."  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ __  
  
Reeve had been reviewing proposals for a new power grid in Junon's industrial sector when his secretary opened the door. Smiling gently and politely placing the papers away, he waited for her to speak.  
  
"Mr. Reeve?" The president shook his head. He had tried to convince her to drop that Mr. in front of his name, but the poor girl just couldn't seem to get past her manners.  
  
"What can I do for you Andrea?"  
  
"There's a Mr. Cloud Strife on line 2, sir." Reeve's smile broadened immensely.  
  
"Wonderful. I'll get it in here. Thank you Andrea." The girl bowed slightly as she closed the door.  
  
"You're welcome, sir." Reeve again shook his head at the girl's formality and picked up the phone beside him.  
  
"Cloud? How's it going?"  
  
"I'm pretty good, I suppose. But, we have a bit of a problem." Cloud waited a moment.  
  
"Go ahead." Reeve sounded hesitant to ask. Cloud explained the situation to him.  
  
"I don't suppose there's anything you can do?" The blonde asked hopefully. On the other side, one of the most powerful men in the world set his mouth in a tight line and shook his head.  
  
"Sorry, Cloud, there's not much that is possible right now. We always have one or two teams stationed around the outskirts of Midgar, but just enough to handle the few mako monsters that might be heading towards Kalm. The Turks would slip by them with ease."  
  
"Can you send one of the teams in to investigate the old Shin-ra building? That's bound to be where they're heading."  
  
"I want to help you guys out, but my men just aren't prepared or equipped to handle that kind of scenario. There's still too much monster activity for me to send my people in there with a clear conscience..." Reeve trailed off in something akin to disappointment at not being able to help. "Sorry Cloud."  
  
"Don't worry, I understand. I would probably make the same decision if I were in your position. Looks like it's up to us to figure this out ourselves."  
  
"Well..." Reeve started hopefully. "If you'd like I can certainly arrange transportation for you guys into the Shin-ra building."  
  
"You can get us there?" Cloud asked skeptically.  
  
"I can put you on the doorstep. Just because I don't like sending employees there, doesn't mean it's completely inaccessible. But don't you think this is just a little dangerous for just you and Tifa. I don't mean just the monsters, because I know you can handle them easily. I'm more concerned about the Turks. If you get there and they decided they didn't want to be friendly. Well, you two would probably be in a fair amount of trouble." Cloud paused before answering.  
  
"I had thought about that too. How many transportation ports does Shin-ra have around the world?" Reeve was puzzled by the question, but reacted immediately with an answer.  
  
"We have at least one helipad everywhere except Cosmo Canyon and Gongaga. Why?"  
  
"I think I'm going to need to get the team together again, but there isn't time for Cid to fly around collecting everyone. If we could get everyone to a central location, that would be best." Reeve started to understand what Cloud was getting at.  
  
"I doubt it would be much of a problem for my pilots to pick up and drop off anyone within their vicinity, but what about Red? Cosmo Canyon doesn't have a helipad remember? And I don't think a trip from Wu-tai could be made in time to get Yuffie. The helicopters aren't suitable for cross- ocean travel, at least without stopping to fuel up on one of our ocean tankers. Provided one is available." Reeve sounded like the entire plan needed to be remade, but Cloud didn't seem set back at all.  
  
"I think the best place for everyone to gather is Nibleheim." The town was spoken of with a reservation that Reeve thought was quite apparent. "It provides a central location, is equipped with a Shin-ra helipad, and is close enough for Red to get to without much trouble. With Vincent already there, and Cid in the Highwind, the only one reliant on a helicopter is Barret. Once the Highwind gets loaded up, Cid can fly to Wu- tai, grab Yuffie, and keep going that way till he reaches Kalm." Cloud seemed proud of himself at this feat of planning. "Of course, I still have to get in touch with everyone."  
  
"I'll bet you won't have much trouble convincing them to come. Unfortunately though, Cait Sith can't join you. I'm simply too busy to control that cat nowadays. Sorry again."  
  
"It's ok. We should be able to get by without him. But you can make the travel arrangements we need?"  
  
"No problem at all. I'll simply have a helicopter with Barret on it dispatched from Corel to Nibleheim within the next few hours. If everything goes right, you should have the team assembled in Kalm by tonight."  
  
"That's what I was hoping. All right, thanks alot Reeve. I have to go make a couple phone calls. Take care of yourself, Mr. President." Reeve laughed at the title.  
  
"You too, Cloud."  
  
______________________________________________________________  
  
"Talk to me." The gruff answer echoed through the PHS' receiver and into the other line.  
  
"Cid, is that you?"  
  
"Strife? How's it goin little man? The fuck do you want?" Cloud shook his head at his friend's typical quick rant.  
  
"It's pretty good I suppose..." He trailed off, before picking back up in a childish tone. "Whatcha doin' for the next coupla days?" Cid took the phone away from his ear and looked at it incredulously, before crushing his cigarette out into the ashtray beside him. He placed it back to his ear before speaking carefully  
  
"No, seriously, What the fuck do you want?"  
  
"Well, there's been a couple complications that have come to my attention."  
  
"Shit, boy don't start talkin like Nananaki or whatever the fuck his name is on me here. One Red is enough." Cloud ignored the interruption.  
  
"We think the Turks are heading to Midgar to get something from Hojo's labs." Cloud held the phone away from his ear and braced himself.  
  
"That's a fucking joke right? Your idea of some stupid, piece of shit, lame ass mother fucking joke, right!?" Cloud broke in to silence the older man before he could keep going.  
  
"I know, I know. But it could just be a rumor. And if it isn't, we need to be there to stop them. So we need you to" This time Cid was the one to cut Cloud off, much calmer than he had been seconds before.  
  
"To grab the team in the Highwind, yeah, I assumed so much. But I don't have time to get everyone?" He stated the last part as a question, enticing his former leader to give him the solution to the apparent problem.  
  
"Don't worry, I've got it under control. All you have to do is get to Nibleheim to pick up Red, Barret and Vincent. Hopefully, he'll still be in the mansion. I'll try his PHS and let him know you're coming."  
  
"I don't think that would do much good, Spike. Vampy left it here."  
  
"Dammit. All right, you'll probably have to look for him then. After you get who you can, I need you to grab Yuffie from Wutai before coming here to Kalm."  
  
"What about getting into Midgar. We can't land there."  
  
"I know, but Reeve said he'd provide us transportation right to the Shin-ra building. At the pace we're going, we might even beat the Turks there.  
  
___________________________________________________________________  
  
Reno felt the breeze whip through his hair, pushing the long bangs in front of his eyes. With a casual swipe they were gone for a while longer. His hands gripped the railing of the boat as the water splashed lightly onto his face. He allowed himself a rare smile of peace as he closed his eyes and took in the smell of the salt-water and the sound of the waves crashing against the vessel. Growing up in Midgar, Reno never saw the ocean. 'Hell, I barely ever saw the sun. Even after becoming a Turk, it was rare for our transportation to not be in the air. Guess I never realized how much I enjoyed boats.' Reno decided that it was indeed a rare moment in his life when he was so content. 'Plus, just look at how easy it would be to get rid of a body offa this thing.' The Turk smirked at his uncanny ability to ruin any deep or meaningful moment for anyone. Including himself. This thought kept his mind so preoccupied that he almost didn't notice the small hand that snaked into his back pocket expertly and removed his wallet. Almost. Deciding to play with the foolish thief, Reno spoke without giving any acknowledgment that the crime had occurred.  
  
"Nice try, but you'll have" His great plan was cut short as his knee was kicked out from behind and he collapsed onto the deck. The thief decided against pressing the attack and was already dashing away as Reno climbed to his feet and took off in pursuit. 'Guess they don't get surprised easy. Course, I think when I jam my EMR down their throat, there should be more than enough surprise to make up for it.'  
  
Reno was moving quickly across the deck when the figure he followed ducked down into the lower decks that contained a restaurant and lounge that was occupied by the majority of the ferry's passengers. Realizing that the thief was considerably smaller than him, and thus would have a much easier time navigating the crowded room Reno wracked his brain for a 'Plan B.' Again the smirk came back to him. 'Well, it's always gotten people coming after me before. If anything, the irony alone is worth it.'  
  
"STOP, THEIF!" Reno's voice rang out over the din of the crowd and he swore he saw his prey stiffen slightly in surprise as many eyes went from Reno to the person he was obviously chasing. 'Yes, score one for the good guys' The red head mentally congratulated himself. 'And here comes point number two'  
  
Reno watched his target turn back to see just where they were in relation to their pursuer and didn't notice the giant mound of muscle that could possibly pass for a man step out in front of them. Reno smiled, waved, then when he was certain he had captured the thief's attention long enough, pointed behind them. The mysterious figure plowed right into the chest of Rude, and hit the ground hard.  
  
"You mother fucking asshole. Watch where you're going, dick." Rude did not respond to the verbal assault, but Reno sure did. The smirk of amusement that had been slapped on his face was fading quickly as his confident saunter increased to a jog, anger and disbelief quickly replacing it. His ramblings of fury grew louder as he approached the two.  
  
"No. No you've gotta be kidding me. I'll kill her. I swear, if it's her. I'll kill her." The irate Turk reached his partner, who had already removed the thief's comically large hat. Reno didn't even look down. "Please tell me it's not her, man." The small voice on the ground spoke up.  
  
"Uh. Hi?" Reno breathed slowly, still staring into his friend's sunglasses, as the color drained from his face. Then his shoulders slumped as he reached a calm, open hand out. Taking the hand with slight apprehension, the grounded person began using Reno for support to get to their feet. The hand quickly let go, and the thief found themselves on the ground again.  
  
"I don't wanna help you up, you fucking bimbo. I want my wallet back. And to know what the hell you're doing here Yuffie." Yuffie looked up sheepishly before handing the wallet to the open hand that had once more revealed itself to her.  
  
"Oh. That. I, uh." She stopped. "Just couldn't wait to see you again?" Reno looked down at her and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Nice try. But you're not gonna bullshit you're way out of this one, Yuff." He helped her to her feet as Rude grabbed a fourth chair for their table. "Now, seriously. What do you want?"  
  
Yuffie turned her eyes down to the table in front of her. 'If I tell them that I wanted to follow them and make sure they weren't actually taking Hojo's notes, Reno would probably throw me off the ship. Or have Rude do it.' She deduced that the simplest answer would probably work the best in this situation. "You know how I always bitch and moan about wanting to come with you guys on a mission?" Reno nodded fervently and Rude even lifted an eyebrow. "Well, I figured you weren't gonna stop me this time."  
  
"Now hold on a second. You can't just assume we're going to let you come with just cause you showed up here. This is Turk business. And you're not a Turk." Reno pointed at her. Yuffie stood up  
  
"Whatever. You can't stop me. I'm getting something to eat." She turned away only to have her upper arm grasped by a now standing Reno. She hadn't even heard him get to his feet. The Turk pulled the Ninja in close.  
  
"Yuffie, this is not somewhere you are going to want to be." He whispered harshly, the grip on her arm not loosening. "This is not somewhere I want you to be." With that he let her go, and while Yuffie stood there with a look of mild shock registering in her face, took his seat again. The girl walked off, casting the occasional glance over her shoulder.  
  
"She might be some help." At that Reno looked up in surprise.  
  
"You're shitting me, right?"  
  
"No." Reno gave his friend another dark look, before something akin to resignation crossed his features.  
  
"This is such a bad fucking idea." 


	5. Chapter 4 Twentythree, going on eight, ...

Chapter 4 - Twenty-three, going on eight, why?  
  
Dr. Howari sat still at her desk, the results of the latest experimentation lying near her hands, discarded for the moment. In her hands she held a picture frame that she stared deeply into, reaching back in her memory for long forgotten times. The couple in the picture stared back at her with brilliant, youthful smiles. As she set the picture back down in front of herself, the scientist absently played with her wedding band still placed on her finger. She detected a movement out of the corner of her eye through security camera monitor that recorded the hall in front of her office. She was on her feet with the previously abandoned file in hand before he entered the room. She responded to him without looking up.  
  
"What do you want Alexander, I'm busy." The cold greeting was intended to cut the powerful man and dissuade him from completing whatever task had brought him there, but it was no use. Corin simply wouldn't be put off so easily.  
  
"Whatever makes you think I want something, my dear Kaylynn." At that, the scientist looked up with a dead look in her eyes.  
  
"Dr. Howari, will be fine, thank you." The title was emphasized with what Kaylynn hoped would be enough of a threat to stop a repetition. Once again, the founder of A.E.C. continued unabashed.  
  
"Very well. Whatever makes you think I want something, Dr. Howari." Again the title was emphasized, this time mockingly. "I've merely come to visit my favorite employee. How have the day's experiments been? Fruitful, I hope." Again, she turned away from him and read over the results.  
  
"The results are satisfactory as far as I can tell. I will need those notes of Hojo's before long if we wish to proceed though." A smile, unseen by the woman, spread across Corin Alexander's face.  
  
"Those notes will be in your beautiful hands soon enough." Howari ignored the comment. "My men will be retrieving them from the Turks within the next day or so." At this, Kaylynn wheeled around to face him, uncommon surprise and something akin to fear clearly written across her expression.  
  
"The Turks? You've gotten the Turks involved with this, Corin? Are you a damned fool? If they discover the contents of those files you've sent them for, they won't hesitate to try and hunt you down." At this, the smile on the C.E.O.'s face grew even wider.  
  
"Yes, I thought you would enjoy that little tidbit. But, it is of no concern. The Turks will retrieve the information we require from the Shin- ra Building, but they will not leave Midgar." Howari placed the file down upon her desk again and moved to leave the room. At the door's threshold however, she hesitated and spoke over her shoulder.  
  
"I sincerely hope you're right, Alexander. For both our sakes."  
  
________________________________________________________________  
  
Elena stepped off of the ferry to Kalm with Yuffie keeping pace beside her. The blond Turk turned to her close friend.  
  
"I'm not too sure you tagging along is such a good idea." Elena continued at the look she was receiving from the younger girl. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here, but this isn't exactly a walk in the park. Plus I think you might be distracting Reno."  
  
"What, just cause he thinks I'm gonna screw everything up since I'm not a Turk?" Elena looked at Yuffie sheepishly.  
  
"Actually. I think he's more worried about you getting hurt." Yuffie stopped dead.  
  
"Good one, Elena. Reno doesn't care what happens to me, he's just worried about the mission." Elena looked back to the ferry where Reno and Rude were trying to retrieve their luggage. The red head was dancing around Rude playfully shoving him, bothering him about lord knows what.  
  
"I don't know about that Yuff. I've never even heard of Reno going out with someone as often as you two seem to, much less seen it." Yuffie looked surprised.  
  
"Going out? Those weren't dates. I told you, we were just hungry." Elena patted the ninja on the shoulder before moving once again to their hotel.  
  
"Sure you were Yuffie. Rude and I are going to be on our own for dinner tonight. Maybe you two should do the same." The female Turk disappeared into the doorway. Yuffie looked at the other two with uncertainty, just in time to watch Reno point and laugh at Rude. Apparently, he hadn't noticed just how close he'd gotten to the bigger man during his dancing. One right hook later and Reno was down. He decided it wouldn't be a good idea to get up, but kept laughing anyway. Rude grabbed what he could and walked off, passing Yuffie as she walked towards Reno. She couldn't help but smile into the dark sunglasses. Rude adjusted them before speaking.  
  
"What? He's a dick."  
  
_______________________________________________________________  
  
Reno and Rude stood beside the dock watching the two girls walk away, chatting. Stepping towards their luggage, Reno turned to his taller friend.  
  
"Hey, the hotel you got us booked in. Is that the one with the club on the first floor." Rude simply nodded in response. "Awesome. You wanna hit that for a while tonight, after we've got everything ready to go?"  
  
"No."  
  
Reno stopped walking for a moment in surprise, before jogging to catch up to his partner again. "What do you mean 'no'? You don't say 'no' to a club, bar, pub.any drinking establishment really. What gives, man?"  
  
"Elena and I have reservations." They both stopped in front of the luggage as Reno looked at his friend with pure disbelief.  
  
"Elena? As in Elena that chick we work with? As in Elena, the ditsy blond who we all just hate to love?" Rude didn't react, and Reno's smirk broke out into a full out smile. "This is unbelievable. You and Elena? Elena and you?" Reno began dancing around. Rude simply shook his head.  
  
"It's not that unbelievable." Reno paused while standing on one foot behind the bald man, the smile disappearing for a moment of contemplation.  
  
"No, I suppose it isn't. Kinda expected really." Again, the dancing started. "So. Do you loooooove her?"  
  
"How old are you, really?"  
  
"Twenty three, going on eight, why? An you didn't answer the question." The seriousness of the reply caused Rude to examine the words in his head again, ensuring he didn't mishear. He simply chalked it up to idiocy.  
  
"That's none of your business." Again Reno stopped dancing, this time in front of his friend.  
  
"Great googily moogily, you do!" The red head excitedly exclaimed. When it came to being a Turk, nothing could crack Rude's cold exterior. When it came to being a man talking about women, he blushed like a little school-girl. "Dude? Are you." Reno trailed off and took a step in to look closer. "Holy hell, you are blushing. This is un-fuckin-believable." Out of intelligent things to say, Reno fell back on his most primal instinct for the situation. He pointed and laughed.  
  
It's very uncommon for Reno to be caught off guard. Much less twice in one day. He had already reprimanded himself for being surprised by Yuffie on the boat. Fortunately, he didn't have to reprimand himself for not noticing just how close he was to Rude, or just how his friend was pulling his arm back. Rude did all the reprimanding needed for Reno being so damned inattentive. And annoying.  
  
"You're a fucking child." Rude left his friend on the ground with these words, the laughter still emanating from within the mess of a downed blue suit. Walking swiftly away, Rude came upon Yuffie, who, obviously having witnessed the entire ordeal, approached with a smile. Rude fixed his glasses before speaking.  
  
"What? He's a dick."  
  
_______________________________________________________________  
  
The Highwind touched down outside of Nibleheim as Red and Barret walked over to the rope ladder that had just descended. Moments later Cid Highwind dropped to the ground beside them with a cigarette clenched in his teeth. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the captain voiced a question that had been bothering him.  
  
"Where th' fuck is the vampire at?" The other two members of AVALANCHE glanced at each other briefly before looking back to their friend. Red was the one to speak up.  
  
"Vincent is not with you?" Cid stared back at the fire-lion with a look of undisguised curiosity.  
  
"Spike didn't tell you guys to find him? We're supposed to check the mansion before we head 'er." Barret looked over his shoulder to the decrepit building that stood taller than any other building in the town behind them.  
  
"Fuck."  
  
"Yeah, that's what I said." The giant man looked back at the smaller blond.  
  
"Can't we jus' call his PHS?" Cid shook his head and pulled the object in question out of his jacket pocket.  
  
"No good, he left it at my place."  
  
Red began to walk away. "Very well. Better begin the search now then." Barret and Cid exchanged a look before stepping quickly to follow him.  
  
"Yeah. Great idea, cat."  
  
Cid nodded and lit a fresh cigarette.  
  
______________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie bent down beside the fallen Turk as his laughter faded into a slight chuckle. Reno pulled himself into a sitting position while rubbing his jaw. A few last snickers escaped from him as he looked up at the woman beside him.  
  
"Are you ok?" She asked with a smile on her face, telling him she really think he was hurt. The Turk clambered to his feet and cracked his back. Yuffie stood up with him.  
  
"Ow. That really hurt y'know. But, I suppose it really was worth it." Reno walked over and picked up what luggage Rude had left for him while Yuffie waited.  
  
"What were you laughing at anyway?" Reno looked back at the girl with a sly smirk before answering.  
  
"Oh, nothing at all, really." Yuffie put on a look of mock hurt.  
  
"What, you're not going to tell me? Don't you trust me?"  
  
"That's exactly why I'm not going to tell you." This time she really did seem to be hurt, but she hid it quickly. If Reno had noticed, he made no indication of it. He simply moved onto the next point of conversation.  
  
"Hey, what're you doing tonight?"  
  
"Umm." Yuffie hesitated. "I don't really know. It's not like I really thought anything through when I jumped on that boat. I guess I figured I would be tailing you guys around."  
  
"Yeah, I guess. You want to go get something to eat, or drink. Or something later?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Yuffie spoke nonchalantly, but her mind was working furiously. 'It's just dinner. Not like it's an actual date. So why am I getting so excited? I mean, it's not as if he wants me. Even though this is just what Elena had said. Oh Gawd.'  
  
The two walked on in silence, while Reno would cast glances in Yuffie's direction when she wasn't looking. And paid attention to when she did the same while he looked away. 'Why can't I stop looking at her? It's not like she's the most beautiful girl ever. So why was it so hard for me to just ask her out? This is all such bullshit.'  
  
"Hey, Yuff?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Why'd you follow us?" The young ninja's heart and mind froze. She scrambled quickly for an answer.  
  
"I told you, I wanted to come on a mission." Reno looked skeptical and Yuffie started thinking again, even before the inevitable question was asked.  
  
"Quit lying. Why'd you come?"  
  
'Oh, I don't know Reno.' Yuffie thought. 'Some crackjob called Cloud up and told him you guys were going to steal Hojo's notes, so instead of just asking like a real friend would have, I decided to spy on you. Yeah. That'll go over great.' Reno began to get impatient.  
  
"Well?" Yuffie realized that a flat out lie wasn't going to cut it in this situation. What she needed was a different reason for her being here, even if it was only a half-truth. So she came up with the first thing that came to mind.  
  
"I really wanted to come with you." Reno looked like he was going to get mad, so Yuffie cut him off. "Not just with you on the mission. With you as in you." Reno's eyes widened with shock almost imperceptibly and Yuffie found herself backtracking. "Like you, Rude and Elena."  
  
"Yeah, sure." Reno started walking again and Yuffie heard him mumbling to himself. "Yep. This really is gonna be one hell of a mission."  
  
______________________________________________________________  
  
Red, Cid and Barret entered the Shin-ra mansion as quietly as possible. They were surprised at what they saw. Cid whistled, while Barret spoke.  
  
"Would you look at this place. So that's what Fang-boy's been up to."  
  
The entire building had appeared to be refurbished down to the smallest detail. Red stepped into the middle of the room and looked around.  
  
"Everything seems different, yet familiar as well. I believe nothing has been changed from the mansion's original designs. It has merely been restored to how it was intended to appear." Barret and Red heard Cid call from a different room.  
  
"I don't know how about you guys, but I sure as fuck don't remember this being here. Come check this out." Exchanging a quick look, the other two intruders of Vincent's home joined their friend beside a fully operational grand piano.  
  
"Wow."  
  
"This piece is breath-taking."  
  
"See, I told you."  
  
In front of the three adventurers there was an oil painting mounted on the wall behind the piano. The work, while not massive, was an impressive size. In the picture, a strikingly beautiful woman sat at the very same piano steps in front of them. Wearing a majestic green dress and her hair lifted up in a bun, the woman appeared to have been captured directly after a performance. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as they followed anyone who looked into them around the room, and the smile on her face was one of pure happiness, of someone who had found love.  
  
"Hey. Do we," Cid squinted, looking closely at the face. "Do we know her?"  
  
Realization donned on Barret's face. "Yeah, that's that waterfall lady. The one who gave Vince his gun. Lucy, or somethin'." Red corrected his companion.  
  
"Lucrecia, I believe her name was."  
  
"Yes, you are correct Nanaki." The sudden appearance of another person's voice ringing throughout the mansion caused the members of AVALANCHE to jump. They wheeled around at the source of their surprise.  
  
"Shit Vinnie, you scared the hell outta me." Vincent Valentine stood in the door way to the piano room, his dark cape still falling about him.  
  
"I apologize. I simply intended to make my presence known."  
  
"Vincent. Did you paint this?" Red had turned his attention back to the painting. Vincent looked up to it as well, the ghost of a smile crossing his lips.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Barret scratched the back of his head. "Damn. Good lookin' woman Vince. But that wasn't here last time we came through. Has it been in storage or something?"  
  
Vincent turned towards the other man. "No, It was only recently completed. I painted it from the memory of that night." Cid placed a cigarette in his mouth.  
  
"Musta been one hell of a night."  
  
"It was. Now what can I do for you gentlemen?"  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ 


	6. Chapter 5 I Guess He's Going to do Thin...

Chapter 5 - I Guess He's Going to do Things to Her. Or Something.  
  
The group of adventurers stepped quickly towards the tallest building of Wutai, a fuming Cid in the lead. Vincent kept pace a half step behind him, while Barret and Red kept a wary distance behind the irate pilot. Arriving at their destination, the pagoda of the Gods loomed in front of them as Cid again took the lead and banged on the door. He grasped for a fresh cigarette and was busy lighting it when Gorky opened the entrance and peered out.  
  
"Captain Highwind." The vassal of Wutai looked past Cid. "Mr. Valentine, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Nanaki. What can I do for you gentlemen?" Cid took a step forward.  
  
"You can tell me where the hell that brat is?" Barret pulled him aside roughly at Gorky's shocked expression, and Red quickly filled in.  
  
"Actually, we were wondering if you knew the whereabouts of Lady Kisaragi." Gorky peered down at the fire-beast.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. Miss Yuffie left her home last night without any notice. We haven't seen nor heard from her since."  
  
"She just left without warning? Have you attempted to locate her yet?" Gorky hung his head.  
  
"Unfortunately, no. These disappearances are more common than you may think. After a while, we gave up trying to find her when they occurred. The Lady is quite capable of hiding when she wants to."  
  
Red looked disappointed with the answer. "Thank you for your time Gorky. If Yuffie does return shortly, please have her contact us."  
  
"Certainly, friend. Have a good day." Gorky closed the door behind himself. Cid took a last drag before speaking.  
  
"Well, I gotta say, I'm really not that surprised. She never did want to stick around when things got tough." Vincent spoke up in Yuffie's defense.  
  
"That is untrue Cid. She returned to us the day before the final descent into the Northern Crater of her own free will. The girl does the right thing when it needs to be done. I believe whatever took her away from home yesterday seemed more important than assisting us into Midgar."  
  
"I agree." Red supported both Vincent and Yuffie with his statement, but Barret shook his head.  
  
"No, I'm with Cid on this one. The girl has no sense of responsibility." Red turned towards the former leader of AVALANCHE.  
  
"We are all entitled to our opinions of Yuffie, but arguing about them will not cause her to appear any sooner than she intends. I believe it is in our best interest too simply carry on to Kalm without her. Cid?" The fire-beast asked the pilot for confirmation. Cid's head shot up at his name, whatever thoughts running through his mind were broken. It took him a moment to comprehend what Red had said.  
  
"Yeah, I think you're right. But I think we should leave in the morning. We need a little rest, and it'll give the brat a little more time to show. We'll just give Strife a little heads-up."  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
"I really don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation." Yuffie rolled her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening. And they had been having such a nice dinner. Kind of. She made eye contact with the Turk across the table from her.  
  
"I really think I do. It doesn't matter at all." Reno looked shocked and almost pained.  
  
"How can you say it doesn't matter? How could you possibly say that? The question has plagued humanity since the creation of the universe."  
  
"No, Reno, it hasn't." She felt like she was talking to a four-year- old. "I sincerely doubt that the cavemen wondered if Spider-man could take Superman."  
  
"I'm telling you, he can. That self-righteous nerd with those damned glasses has his head way too far up his ass to even touch Spider-man."  
  
"I hate you."  
  
"I mean, really. Parker's a genius. He could whip up some kind of kryptonite web that would render Superman powerless."  
  
"Please stop talking." Yuffie's hands went to her temple to massage the headache away.  
  
"And don't give me that 'super-speed' crap. He only uses his full power when he's in trouble, and by the time he realized that, Spider-man would have already handed his ass to him."  
  
"Reno." Yuffie spoke a little louder. So did Reno.  
  
"Plus, the guys a fucking alien. Everyone knows aliens can't compete with us home grown humans. Genetically enhanced or not."  
  
"RENO." Yuffie yelled while simultaneously slamming down on the table. While all the other patrons with the tiny restaurant jumped with the impact. Reno only smiled sweetly.  
  
"Yes, love?"  
  
"Don't call me that. Would you please stop talking about this, please? I'd much rather talk about something else such as, oh I don't know." Yuffie paused, looking out the window beside her into the streets of Kalm. "The mission tomorrow perhaps." Reno's smile disappeared, as he finished his last bite and pushed the empty plate besides Yuffie, where their server could easily pick it up.  
  
"Ah, right. That thing." Yuffie looked hopeful, and Reno hesitated before finally continuing. "We're going to the ruins of Midgar." The shock shot across Yuffie's face, but Reno had deemed it considerably mild in comparison to his initial reaction. But he just chalked it up to simple reasoning. Why else would they have gone to Kalm if not to reach Midgar. He ignored his instincts and smirked while she searched for the words.  
  
"What's in Midgar."  
  
"Good question. Also one I can't answer. Sorry, babe."  
  
"Fine. What sector are we going to? I deserve to at least know that." Yuffie leaned forward expectantly, but caught herself before easing back into her chair. She hoped that she wasn't putting on to unnatural a show for Reno. The man was a professional when it came to reading people, and she tried her best to hide her prior knowledge of the mission. His next answer would almost certainly confirm or deny any of the allegations she secretly held against him, Rude and Elena.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you do. But we're not going to a sector." Yuffie's breath caught. "We've gotta go straight to the heart of Midgar." Reno trailed off and Yuffie picked up hesitantly, her eyes downcast towards the table.  
  
"The Shin-ra building?" Reno could almost swear he heard a disappointment in her voice, but something was off. It didn't seem to be a disappointment of going somewhere unwanted. It seemed like she was disappointed. In him? 'What the hell?' Once again, Reno forced his instincts down, and answered.  
  
"Yeah. There."  
  
"Well, I guess it's going to be a long day."  
  
"You'd guess right. But I don't want to talk about such boring crap anyway. We'll deal with tomorrow when it comes." Yuffie kept her head down as Reno's conversation faded into the background noise. She had truly hoped that Cloud was wrong, or that his informer was wrong. Now there was almost no question about it, the stories matched up too perfectly. The Turks were going to get Hojo's notes for some madman. And she was going to have to stop them, even if it meant her life. Or perhaps more importantly, their friendship. She looked up into Reno's cerulean eyes. Was she ready to give that up so easily? As Reno's questioning eyebrow rose up, Yuffie allowed her own eyes to drop down again. She could only hope AVALANCHE would arrive in time to help her.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
Reno had decided that the group shouldn't separate too far from each other, but Rude absolutely insisted that Reno stay 'as far away from this date as fucking possible.' Instead, the two reached a compromise. The two pairs sat at opposite ends of the same restaurant within the hotel, completely, to Rude's joy, out of earshot from one another. The tall Turk looked away from his redheaded friend and back towards the beautiful blond sitting across from him, as she waved her hand frantically to get the waiter's attention. She slumped down again in a huff, and looked at Rude.  
  
"Rude. The waiter just keeps ignoring me." While his face remained impassive, Rude smiled inwardly. Elena's voice would, without fail, take on that tone when she didn't get her way. While Reno had said time and time again that he would like to take his nightstick to the back of her head when she started getting whiney, to Rude it was just one more of the reasons why he loved her. Elena had finally gotten the attention that she desperately sought and ordered herself yet another drink. It was the weirdest thing. Reno and Rude would nearly kill themselves drinking most nights of the year, but a night before a mission; they wouldn't touch the stuff. On the other hand, Elena, who was far from a heavy drinker most of the time, loved to consume cocktail after cocktail the night before. Rude just assumed to each, their own.  
  
"So what do you think they're talking about?" Elena had turned her attention back to Rude while pointing behind her at their travelling companions.  
  
"Not sure." Yuffie's eyes were downcast, and she seemed deep in thought. If Reno noticed he didn't make any mention of it.  
  
"I think they're talking about either the mission or their relationship. Why else would Yuffie look so sad?" Elena giggled at what she thought was a lovely insult on her leader. "Though, I think those two should have gotten together a long time ago."  
  
"All they do is fight."  
  
"Yeah, but it's weird, no matter how much they fight, even when it seems like Yuffie's about to take a swing at Reno, or he's about to just start shooting random objects, it's always playful. I think it's how they flirt." Rude couldn't help but wonder. He had been ignoring the signs personally. Once in a while, he could see that damned smirk of his partner's widen almost imperceptibly when Yuffie walked into the room. After giving it a little more thought, Rude couldn't help but start agreeing with Elena.  
  
"I think you're right. Who knows, maybe she'll put him in his place." Rude watched Yuffie blush bright red and threaten Reno with her butter knife as he laughed. "That, or finally kill him."  
  
Elena gave a good laugh and smiled widely at Rude. To her surprise, Rude returned the smile and reached out for her hand. Elena looked down in surprise as her stoic comrade's hand enclosed hers completely. When he took off his sunglasses to look her directly in the eyes she almost lost her voice. Almost.  
  
"I think we should go upstairs." Elena's voice came out husky and Rude simply nodded. While still smiling, he called the waiter over again, while writing a quick note  
  
"We'd like our bill please. And deliver this to that man over there." Rude indicated Reno, who sat sipping away at a coffee.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Excuse me, sir. A man asked me to leave this with you." The waiter dropped a note into Reno's outstretched hand, before walking away to attend to other customers.  
  
"What's that?" Yuffie tried to look at the note by sitting higher in her chair as Reno read it.  
  
"It's from Rude." Reno started chuckling "What a guy. Here, take a look." Yuffie took the note from him and read it. A look of confusion passed onto her face.  
  
"Twenty-two?" Yuffie held up the note to make sure he had seen it right. Sure enough, all that was written on it was the number twenty-two. "What does that mean?" Reno took the paper and stared at it while he spoke.  
  
"It's a code for when we need a little uninterrupted time with a lady- friend. Eleven means one hour, twenty-two means two, thirty-three means three, and so on. Sixty-nine means 'find somewhere else to sleep tonight.'"  
  
"But it's just him and Elena. What do they need two hours for."  
  
"I dunno. I guess he's going to do things to her. Or something. Either way, it looks like you and I have another two hours to kill."  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Tifa and Cloud sat in her bar holding a mug of coffee in each of their hands. The silence had been dominating for a while. Tifa finally broke it.  
  
"Are you worried about tomorrow?" Cloud looked up at his love and smiled.  
  
"Yes, and no. I'm not worried so much about tomorrow, as I'm worried what will happen if we fail tomorrow."  
  
"I know what you mean. But it will be ok. We'll have most of the team together again, and between all of us, there's no way the Turks stand a chance."  
  
At that, the PHS sitting between them rang. Tifa didn't make a move for it as Cloud picked it up.  
  
"Hello. She's not? Odd. No, that's ok, just come as soon as you can.Alright, see you guys in the morning." Tifa looked at Cloud expectantly as he placed the PHS back down. "That was Cid. Yuffie's not in Wutai anymore."  
  
"She's not? Do they know where she went?"  
  
"Apparently not. And they don't know when she'll be back either."  
  
"What now?"  
  
"Well, they decided to spend the night in Wutai and get some rest. That way, there's still a chance Yuffie will show up. Whether or not that happens is up to her though. They'll come straight here in the morning, then we'll set off to Midgar." Tifa stood up and walked over to Cloud. She wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I think we're going to be glad we kept up with our training tomorrow." Cloud nodded silently in agreement. "It's getting pretty late though. Maybe we should get some rest too." Cloud turned his head and gave Tifa a quick kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Yeah, you're right." He stood up as he spoke. "Lord, between us, the Turks and Midgar it's going to be like some sick and twisted reunion tomorrow. I think I'll be half expecting Hojo to show up and start throwing things at us all day tomorrow." Tifa shuddered at the thought.  
  
"Well, there's no need to worry about him. That psycho is long dead. Anyway, let's get to bed." And with that, the couple climbed the stairs and slipped into their room.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
At the center of Midgar stood the decrepit Shin-ra building, a shadow of its former glory. Davis stood on the main floor, surrounded by a specially trained task force. Scattered among the group were eyes glowing with the power of mako enhancement. Picking up his radio, Davis contacted the leaders of the other teams.  
  
"Team 1, what is your status? Over." Davis spoke quietly so as not to attract any unwanted attention. The group had been lucky so far with minimum attacks and zero casualties. Corin Alexander would expect no less.  
  
"Hojo's lab has been completed, sir. We're about halfway down to you now. No incidents to report. Over."  
  
"Wonderful. We'll see you down here. Be careful. Over, out." Davis flicked his radio to the next frequency and spoke again. "Team 2 status. Over."  
  
"Perimeter has been secured, sir. Equipment is completed and operational. No incidents to report. Over."  
  
"Good, work your way back here. Team 1 won't be much longer. Over, out." With that Davis placed the radio back at his hip and turned toward the team leader beside him. "You're certain everything is ready to go here? I won't have any mistakes." Davis was always a bit of a pessimist. Things had been going too well for his liking. He couldn't help but assume something was about to go wrong. The captain's cold eyes met Davis' nervous ones.  
  
"Yes. Structural weak points have been identified and isolated. Remotes are fully operational, as are the receivers. All that's left is the show." He added with a smile. Davis did not share the good humor.  
  
"Very well. You know what to do tomorrow. My escort and I will be heading back now." Davis began walking towards a jeep. Before opening the passenger door, he turned back to speak. "Please don't blow this Kassidy. I don't want to have you killed before I die."  
  
"I never fail." The boast was backed with complete confidence as Kassidy's mako eyes flashed violently back at Davis'. "Sir." The title was added disdainfully, as an afterthought. Once Davis had been driven out of the area, and was on his way out of Midgar, Kassidy turned back to his men as Team 1 arrived. "Alright boys. We're all set here. Teams 1 and 3, get to your camps. Stay in contact when you need to. I'll wait for Team 2 here. Get some rest."  
  
"Sir?" The leader of Team 1 spoke up nervously, afraid he was out of order. "Are you sure you'll wait on your own? We could leave an escort in case of a monster attack." Kassidy turned around to face the team leader, a thin smile playing on his lips.  
  
"You know just as well as I do that there's nothing in these ruins that could ever touch me. Take your team and relax as much as you can for the evening. I'll contact you in the morning."  
  
With that final order, the two teams reluctantly spilt and trudged off to their respective sites for some needed rest. Who knew what tomorrow would hold.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
The pair had been walking the streets of Kalm, idly chatting about nothing in particular for the better part of two hours when they found themselves walking near the docks, and the temperature dropping. Reno pulled his suit jacket a little tighter around himself and looked out towards the ocean. Grinning with what he would consider obvious genius, the Turk turned to the women at his arm and pointed.  
  
"Let's go swimming."  
  
"Fuck off." Reno looked disappointed with Yuffie's answer. His face broke into a grin again a second later.  
  
"Can we go sit by the water, at least?" Yuffie turned and looked up at her companion as he stared out into the dark expanse that was a night ocean. He seemed sincere enough, and had already started walking over. Yuffie spoke as she sped to catch up.  
  
"Fine. But I swear if you try to get me in the water, I'll take your life."  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not really in the mood to fuck around that much right now. Night before a mission and all." Reno sat down at the edge of the dock and patted the wood beside him. He waited for Yuffie to sit before proceeding. "Speaking of which. I know something's bothering you about tomorrow."  
  
Yuffie's voice caught in her throat and inwardly she panicked. Fearing the worst, the ninja was on the verge of completely denying any knowledge of their evil plot to steal Hojo's note to give them to some sicko scientist who's probably just gonna try to take over the world, all so they can make an easy buck. Luckily, Reno spoke first.  
  
"You don't have anything to worry about." Yuffie was confused. She didn't?  
  
"I don't?"  
  
"No, you don't. I mean, you helped take down Sephiroth. Teeming with monsters or not, Midgar is gonna be a piece of cake for you tomorrow. Plus, you've got yours truly with you. Nothing's gonna touch you, cause nothing can get past me. I'm a fucking legend."  
  
Yuffie inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He still didn't know why she had followed them. Gawd, what was she gonna do when the chips were down. She still prayed that it would never come to that. But the worry was present none the less. Wait, what'd he say?  
  
"Nothing's gonna touch me cause you're there?" Reno looked over at her.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What are you saying you want to protect me or something?" Yuffie's studied her shoes intently before casting a quick glance to gauge Reno's reaction. He was smirking.  
  
"Yeah, I guess that's exactly what I'm saying." Yuffie looked up at him and her heart skipped a beat or two. "Same way I'll protect Rude and Elena, and they'll protect me. You may not be a real Turk, but since you're with us for tomorrow, that's good enough for me. Turks take care of their own, pest."  
  
Yuffie smiled at the sentiment, but she couldn't help feel a little disappointed. Why was she so excited when she thought he wanted to protect her? She's not some frail little girl; she can take care of herself. 'But it would sure feel good to have somebody care enough to protect me.' A tiny voice rang out in her mind. She quieted it quickly. Reno's not like that. Reno's an asshole, a killing machine, and a drunken womanizer. All the things mommies teach their daughters to stay the hell away from. Nothing but a bastard.  
  
"C'mon, pest. We'd better get back to the hotel. We need sleep." Yuffie nodded before standing up and following Reno's already retreating back. 'He's a bastard, and he's killed so many. I can never really trust him.' Yuffie repeated this phrase time and time again, and had herself completely convinced when they arrived at the hotel. Sliding into the room her and Elena had, she was happy to find Rude had vacated himself already and Elena was soundly asleep. With nothing but her conflicted thoughts and emotions to keep her company, Yuffie tossed and turned in the dark before finally drifting off to sleep in pure exhaustion. 


	7. Chapter 6 Well, Fuck

Chapter 6 - Well, Fuck.  
  
Reno rolled out of the hotel bed and on to the floor. Grabbing the blankets he took down with him, he curled back up. Rude waited a couple seconds in good faith. Then Reno started to snore. Rude agitatedly sighed once, before kicking Reno hard where he assumed his ribs were. The sleeping Turk mumbled before rolling over and pulling the blankets tighter.  
  
"Reno, get up." Rude was used to this after so many missions, but it never got any easier. He started walking over to the fridge. "Time to wake up." The first ice cube hit Reno in the back of the head.  
  
"Fhmmk aahhff." Rude gathered some more ice from the bucket he had found.  
  
"What was that?" He threw another one. Reno cleared the blanket away from his mouth.  
  
"I said 'fuck off.' Asshole." Rude stepped up beside Reno and bent down.  
  
"Are you gonna get up?"  
  
"Are you gonna go to hell?" Shaking his head, Rude stood tall again. And dumped half the bucket on Reno. Rude braced himself for the explosion of swearing and wildly thrown punches that was sure to follow. To his surprise, Reno simply sat up and shook himself off.  
  
"Alright, alright. I'm up." Rude turned away wondering just what was different from the countless other times they had gone through. Then it hit him. Literally. Right in the back of the head.  
  
"Take this, you bald sonofabitch." Rude turned around and took the next ice cube in the nose. He dove for cover behind the table, flipping it as he went by and grasped for "ammunition" from his bucket. Reno had taken his blanket full of ice with him as he leapt over the bed to find his protection. And thus the ice war began. Using all their Turk training, usually applied in shootouts, the two fired the ice cubes when the opportunity presented itself, before ducking back down behind their cover. Reno kept swearing to distract Rude, and Rude kept silent to piss Reno off. And that was how Elena and Yuffie found them. Rude crouched behind a table in his full Turk suit, looking all business, but throwing ice. And a disheveled Reno behind the bed wearing nothing but black boxers with flames running up the legs.  
  
"What the fuck are you two doing?" Elena stood with a hand on her hip. "We have a mission today and you're acting like God damn children." Rude looked as clearly embarrassed as Rude could possibly look. He seemed pretty normal to Yuffie actually.  
  
"Uhhh Elena." Reno raised his hand like a schoolboy. "I act like a God damn child anytime we have a mission. Remember?"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Ok." Reno started searching for his pants while Rude walked over to the girls. He scratched his head and spoke quietly.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Hey, Rude." Reno called out from behind the giant Turk. Rude turned around to inquire what the hell he could want.  
  
"What do you." Rude was cut off by a final ice cube flying at his face. It hit him right in the sunglasses and broke a lens. Time froze. The room went eerily quite as the occupants stared at the shattered left lens with held breath. Reno's panicked voice broke the spell.  
  
"Oh, God, Rude man I didn't mean to." That was as far as he got before Rude's fist slammed into his face.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Ow."  
  
"It's your own fault you know." Yuffie held the ice pack out to Reno, as he attempted to stop the flow of blood. Drawing his hand away, he inspected himself in the mirror.  
  
"It's it crooked? I think it's crooked. Did he break it?"  
  
"Awww, poor baby Reno can't handle a little punch." Reno growled and took an absent-minded swing at the ninja by side, which she easily danced away from, even in the confines of a hotel bathroom.  
  
"Shut up brat, I'm not in the mood." Yuffie hopped back over and pulled his hand away from his nose.  
  
"Well, the bleeding's stopped at least. Clean yourself up so I can take a closer look." He washed off all the dried blood and Yuffie leaned in, Yuffie took a better look than Reno was comfortable with. Then she flicked him. Reno let out a cry of pain before dashing to grab her. Yuffie spun away from his first grab, but found her backed up against the closed door. Reno was on her like a shot, pinning her between him and her obstacle to freedom.  
  
"That." Reno practically snarled. "Wasn't cool." Yuffie couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but she pulled her courage together.  
  
"Yeah, well you're a wuss." She said as she pushed him back.  
  
"You're a bitch." He took a step closer as he spoke.  
  
"You're a filthy slob." She refused to give ground to the Turk and stepped towards him, daring him to back down. She found herself toe to toe with him, looking up into flashing blue eyes  
  
"You're a high maintenance, prissy little whiner." The insult was lost in the soft whispers of his voice as he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her closer.  
  
"Smart mouthed asshole." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
"Stuck-up Princess" He leaned in, mouth parting slightly. Yuffie began pulling herself up to his lips when she put in one final shot.  
  
"Murderer." Reno stiffened. Throughout the entire exchange, their eyes had remained locked onto the others, seeing nothing else. Now the Turk cast his eyes down. Slowly his hands left her waist and he gently put distance between them.  
  
"Reno, I-I'm sorry." Yuffie stumbled out an apology.  
  
"No it's ok." Reno smiled at the young woman in front of him, but the smile, Yuffie realized, didn't reach his eyes. "I am what I am and I'm damn good at it. Nothin' to be sorry about brat. Anyway, we'd better get going. We're late enough as it is."  
  
Reno pushed past her and into the hotel room where Elena and Rude stood putting together the final details. Yuffie followed him out a few moments later, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. Loading up his handguns and EMR Reno opened the door.  
  
"Well. Let's go."  
  
By the time they reached the rented buggy waiting for them outside, Reno seemed to be back to normal. But Yuffie couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the sunglasses covering his eyes.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
The Turks were already halfway to the ruins by the time Cid had landed the Highwind as close to the town as possible. The group of adventurers departed the airship, leaving its care in the hands of the crew till they returned. Barret was the most familiar with the new arrangement of the town-turned-city, and he led them to Cloud and Tifa's home. The two heroes were waiting from them on their porch. When Tifa saw them approaching she couldn't help but run out to meet them, Cloud walking slowly behind, a smile on his face. Barret was the first to reach the girl and he swept her up into a giant bear hug. After exchanged greetings and pleasantries, Cloud got right down to business.  
  
"Yuffie didn't return I take it."  
  
"No." Cid took a final puff on his cigarette, before crushing it beneath his heel. "Left her PHS behind too. Looks like we're going this one without her." Cloud's mouth set in a grim line, and Tifa looked sorely disappointed.  
  
"We'll be fine without her. Would have been nice to have a little extra support though." Cloud shrugged at his own statement. "There's no point in worrying about it now. How close are we to going. Do you guys need any rest?" Barret and Cid both shook their heads, while Vincent did nothing. Red vocalized his opinion.  
  
"We had more than enough rest last night in Wutai. I believe time is of the essence. If the Turks left Wutai last night, they could very easily have reached the ruins by now." Tifa nodded.  
  
"You're right, Red. We should really get going. Reeve's transport is waiting for us at the western edge of town." Barret still wasn't too sure about the details of the plan.  
  
"What transport? Where's it takin' us. Why can't we jus' take the Highwind." Cid turned his head towards his friend and answered.  
  
"There's no way there's any safe place for the Highwind to land in that fucking wreck. As for the transport, Reeve's boys have cleared a path directly to the Shin-ra building, but the tower has been too dangerous to clear out so far. Reeve won't risk that shit." During the pilot's explanation, Tifa had started to lead AVALANCHE towards the edge of town. The group lapsed into casual conversation, but the anxiety of what this particular trip would hold had an almost physical presence among them. Cloud found himself deep in thought while the others chitchatted.  
  
'What's going to happen if we confront the Turks out there. I hope I'll be able to talk them down without a fight, but I'm concerned about Yuffie. I don't like the lack of details surrounding her departure last night. What if they've kidnapped her, and know we're coming after them. This could all be one big trap. And if we get down to fight, I have a bad feeling it'll be to the bitter end.' Cloud looked at each of his friends as they laughed and smiled, even Vincent looking content in his company. 'Could I really handle losing any of these people, all over some stupid project of a dead man. Am I doing the right thing?' Cloud's thoughts trailed off as he absently grabbed the hilt of his sword, his eyes burning holes in the ground. 'Well, fuck.'  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
Davis stepped into President Alexander's office, gathering a series of files neatly into his hands. Alexander sat at his desk, filling in various reports and sipping idly at a glass of red wine. Davis approached the front of the desk and found himself waiting for Alexander to finish a final paper. Corin placed the completed paperwork to the side and smiled up at his subordinate.  
  
"What can I do for you Davis?"  
  
"Surveillance teams are checking in from Kalm and Midgar. Looks like everybody's up and moving now."  
  
"Wonderful. Where are they?" The president of A.E.C.'s smile grew even broader. Davis flipped open the top file, and held it out for Alexander to look at while he spoke.  
  
"The Turks, Rude, Reno and Elena, arrived in Kalm by ferry last night, accompanied by AVALANCHE member Yuffie Kisaragi." Alexander quirked an eyebrow at the last bit.  
  
"The ninja girl? Interesting. And of her own free will, no less." He hesitated after reading that part of the report. "I'm not certain that's such a good thing, Davis."  
  
"It was unforeseeable, sir. They left for Midgar in a rented buggy early this morning, and have slipped by Reeve's men undetected. They recently reached the Shin-ra building."  
  
"And AVALANCHE?" Alexander flipped the folder closed while speaking, and reached out for the next one Davis offered.  
  
"The Highwind touched down outside of Kalm not too long after the Turks had departed. Cid Highwind, Barret Wallace, Nanaki, or Red XII, and Vincent Valentine met up with Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart. They then loaded onto a Shin-ra transport provided by President Reeve. AVALANCHE should be arriving at the edge of the ruins momentarily." Alexander stood up.  
  
"Are the cameras operational?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Take me there." Alexander slapped Davis on the back and slung an arm over his shoulders. "And why don't you have some popcorn brought up to us." He added with a bark of laughter. "Should be one hell of a show."  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
The Turks stepped up in front of the shattered glass doors that once stood as the entrance to the most powerful building on the planet. Yuffie tried to brush the dust and dirt off her clothes and out of her hair in vain.  
  
"This place is disgusting."  
  
"Oh suck it up, princess." Reno sneered at her. He nodded to Rude, who walked into the dark building, shining his flashlight around, while Elena followed closely behind. Reno grasped Yuffie, his hand, covered in a fingerless and insulated glove, wrapped around her upper arm and pulled her with him. Once inside, she batted his hand away and absently massaged the spot where he had grabbed her.  
  
"Now what?" She asked.  
  
"The service stairs are this way. They go both up and down. Now come on." Reno pointed in the direction of the stairs he had mentioned and the group moved quickly towards them, Rude still leading. They found themselves at a split path of stairs, one leading to the upper floors, and the others leading below ground. Reno took charge.  
  
"The lab is upstairs, but we're going to need the generator up and running to access the computers, provided any are operational. The generator is down in the lower levels. Me an Rude will get the generator running." He turned to the girls. "You two get up to the labs and collect the info. We'll either come get you, or meet you back here." Reno turned to leave, but was intercepted by Yuffie.  
  
"Why are you two going downstairs? Us weak women aren't strong enough for it?" Reno slumped his shoulders.  
  
"Never coming with us again." He said under his breath. "No, we're splitting this way because Rude knows exactly where to go, and I have to jump start the generator. We're not taking you two with because I don't know how much power we're going to get outta the old thing. As soon as the power comes on, Elena's going to be busy getting what we need, and you have to watch her back. Especially considering how much attention we're going to attract by lighting this place up."  
  
Yuffie had her mouth shut when Reno finished. She mumbled out a "sorry" and accompanied Elena up the stairs.  
  
"God, I hate it when women speak." Rude shrugged at his partners' complaint, and the pair headed down the stairs.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
The two Turks walked silently, their night-vision goggles easily piercing the darkness. They both knew they couldn't afford to give their position away to any monsters that roamed the dank basement by using flashlights. They had already slipped by a few packs of the mako-enhanced atrocities undetected, but Reno knew better than to push his luck. All that meant to him was that there was going to be at least two packs of monsters to fight through when the power came back on. Rude made a quick left turn, in what appeared to be a last second decision. Reno stepped up beside his partner and whispered.  
  
"You know where we are right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Just checking." Reno slowed up half a step to follow again. They continued on in uninterrupted silence before Rude abruptly stopped before a door.  
  
"In here." Rude tried the door. It didn't budge. He looked back at Reno. "Locked." Rude stepped off to the side and Reno nodded. He produced a small cigarette case from his jacket pocket. Sliding the back piece down, Reno revealed the secret compartment and removed a small, yet durable lockpick. Kneeling in front of the door, Reno went to work quickly. Seconds later, he had the door unlocked and open.  
  
"Ladies first." Reno smirked. Rude only shook his head and walked into the room. Reno entered a second later and shut the door quietly behind him. He stepped up to the generator and popped open the side panel. Finding the conduit he needed, he flipped open his nightstick. The whir of the EMR charging filled the room and Reno looked over at Rude with a smile. "Better take those things off man." He tossed his night vision goggles up onto his head as Rude dropped them down around his neck. "Don't know about you, but I kinda like my eyesight." For an answer, Rude covered his eyes with a new pair of sunglasses. Reno flicked a switch on the insulated handle and applied the EMR to the circuits. The entire room was illuminated by the power that coursed from Reno's trademark weapon.  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie and Elena moved quickly up the stairs. At floor 19, Elena stopped and opened the door. Yuffie put on her breaks and looked up the stairway confused.  
  
"Cloud always said the lab was on the upper levels." Yuffie whispered.  
  
"And he'd be right. But we don't need to go to the lab to access what we need." Yuffie cut Elena off.  
  
"What do we need anyway?" Elena looked over apologetically.  
  
"Not now. Once we have it, ok?" Yuffie didn't look too happy with the answer. "Anyway, I doubt the upper floors are even standing anymore. There's a computer lab in here that was networked to the entire building. If you know what you're doing." Elena smiled. "C'mon, this way."  
  
The two women darted down the halls, Elena leading the way confidently. A snort and a growl ahead of them brought them to a halt. Elena held a finger to her lips and assumed Yuffie was rolling her eyes through her night vision goggles. Elena pulled a mirror on the end of a small, telescopic rod out of her jacket and used it to look around the corner. Down the hall, in front of the room they needed to get to, stood a giant, mutated rat. Elena held the mirror out for Yuffie, and pulled out her handgun. As Yuffie stared at the rat, a look of utter revulsion fell onto her face. The ninja turned back to witness the Turk attaching a silencer to her weapon. Yuffie held up a hand for Elena to stop. Elena looked at her quizzically, and Yuffie pulled out a small shuriken from a pouch on her hip. Before Elena could protest, Yuffie jumped out into the hall and let the small throwing star fly from her hand. It embedded itself in the rat's neck, and within a second the beast fell over dead. Elena looked out with a questioning eyebrow raised.  
  
"What was that?" The blond asked.  
  
Yuffie patted the pouch at her hip and answered. "Wutain neuro-toxin. The shuriken's edges were coated in it. It causes an almost instant shutdown of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Basically instant death, dependent on the size of the target."  
  
"Oh." Elena pointed to the door behind the body of the rat. "Computer lab is in there."  
  
The women stepped into the lab to find a section of collapsed ceiling covering most of the room. Luckily for the Turks, an entire row remained virtually untouched by the carnage. Elena sat at the closest one and Yuffie stood behind her.  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"Now, we wait for Reno and Rude to get the generator running." Elena hesitated for a second. "Or we're fucked." She then pulled the night vision goggles off her face. Yuffie did the same.  
  
The two waited in silence and darkness, hoping the power would come on soon. When Yuffie couldn't stand it anymore, she tried to start conversation up.  
  
"So. Rude, eh?"  
  
"So. Reno, eh?" If it could have been seen in the dark, Elena would notice Yuffie blushing brightly. "How are things with you two anyway?"  
  
"I. Don't know." Yuffie quickly tried to change the subject. "So can you tell me what we're looking for now?" Silence gripped the room again while Elena searched for the words.  
  
"We're accessing Hojo's old notes." The lights slammed on, and screeches of pain flooded the entire Shin-ra tower. 


	8. Chapter 7 I Hate Mako

Chapter 7 - I Hate Mako  
  
AVALANCHE rode the buggy through the temporary road Shin-ra had set up through the ruins of Midgar, each of them looking warily out into the destruction around them. Tifa shuddered slightly when they past a familiar location, now totally decimated, and Cloud's arm slipped around her shoulders tenderly. Even nearly toppled, the Shin-ra building loomed in front of them as they approached it.  
  
"That place looks pretty deserted, man." Cid leaned forward to speak with Cloud. "I don't think they're here." Cloud looked back at the pilot over his shoulder.  
  
"Well, we've come this far already. I don't think it will hurt to check and be certain." Cid sat back in his seat, grumbling to himself about the uselessness of it all. Cloud looked at the Shin-ra soldier driving. "How much longer do you think we'll be?"  
  
"About another 10 minutes. Maybe. Sir." The sir was added onto the gruff answer with disgust and Cloud pulled back, a little surprised at the venom directed at him. 'Well, I guess he was in the army when Shin-ra was in its glory days. Poor guy probably blames us.'  
  
"Alright guys" Cloud addressed his team. "We're going to be at the Shin-ra building in around 10 minutes. From the looks of things, we won't have much to do." He looked out of the window at the tower in the center of Midgar. "But, just in case, start getting yourselves ready now. You never know what's." Cloud stopped as the entire Shin-ra building came to life, lights within the windows of the darkened building slamming on. The shrieks of pain from monsters unaccustomed to the unnatural light reached even the group of adventurers that journeyed toward them. "Going to happen." Cloud finished lamely. He turned towards the driver and nodded. The buggy accelerated and Cloud began slotting materia into the buster sword. _________________________________________________________________________  
  
As soon as the lights turned on, Reno was on his feet and heading for the door, Rude few steps behind him. The screams around them were deafening, but Reno could deal with it, as long it gave them the few moments' distraction they needed. As the Turks rounded a corner, Rude taking the lead, the screams of the mako monsters within the lower floors of the Shin-ra building died away into snarls and growls of anger. Pushing through a door Rude came face to face with a giant rat monster. He wasted no time putting two bullets into its head. As the beast collapsed onto the tiled floor, the rest of its pack burst out and charged. Rude deftly leapt to the side, and fired into the crowd. The rats turned toward Rude, bearing their teeth, and didn't notice Reno enter the room firing away with his handgun quickly, until three of them were left dead with their brethren. What remained of the pack was scattered by shots fired over Reno's shoulder as Rude cleared a path for them to the stairs. One final rat jumped out at the Turks, and had its skull caved in by Rude's gloved fist. Now in a full sprint, the Turks entered the last stretch of basement before the stairs and found it filled with monsters of all types, attacking each other ferociously in sheer rage. Reno stopped dead in his tracks beside Rude and looked up at the taller man.  
  
"Is there another way around, man?" Reno asked. Rude simply shook his head and pulled a grenade off the bandoleer around his waist.  
  
"Oh." Reno trailed off. Then setting his mouth into a smirk, he reloaded his gun and brought his EMR up to power. "That's fucking awesome."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Davis, why can't I see where the blond Turk and her little friend are?" Corin stared at the monitor displaying the now illuminated remains of Hojo's upper lab.  
  
"I believe they have found an alternate route to access the information, sir." Davis answered quickly.  
  
"Very well." Corin turned his head toward the basement monitor. On it, Reno and Rude jumped into the battle. "At least these two should provide some pre-game entertainment."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________  
  
The moment the power had turned on, Elena had her computer up and running again. Working quickly, she fired through the directory of files contained within. Yuffie began to get nervous as the screams died away.  
  
"How long is this gonna take, Elena?"  
  
"I have to break into Hojo's files, find what we're looking for, copy it twice, and then I'll be done." She answered. Yuffie looked over at her  
  
"Yeah, but how long is this gonna take?" Yuffie asked again. Elena paused momentarily, thinking about it.  
  
"I really have no idea."  
  
"Well, that's just great." Yuffie stepped up to the doorway she was carefully guarding and peered out. While she could hear that were angry, angry monsters on the floor with them, none had yet entered the adjoining hallway. Behind her, Yuffie heard Elena give her an update.  
  
"Alright, I'm into Hojo's personal files. It shouldn't be too hard to find it now." While Elena had been speaking, Yuffie watched a spider crawl into her line of vision. The girl eased herself out of sight slowly. "Yuffie?" Elena questioned and looked over at her companion. Yuffie raised a finger to her lips and slid the Conformer off her back.  
  
Propped up against the wall beside the door, Yuffie could hear the spider's thin legs tapping along in the hall. The clicking ceased, and silence once again ruled as Yuffie assumed the beast had stopped where she could only guess the discarded corpse of the rat lay. Again, the tapping continued, this time furiously retreating the way it came. Yuffie allowed herself a sigh of relief and looked over at Elena.  
  
"Everything alright?" The blond asked quietly. Yuffie nodded, and was reaching behind to secure her weapon once again when she froze. Again signaling for Elena to be silent, she listened as the frantic approach of the spider was heard again. Only something seemed different. 'It's not alone?' Yuffie wondered to herself. 'It didn't actually go get help did it?' The ninja pulled out the viewing mirror she had held onto after Elena gave it to her earlier, and risked a look out in the hall. Sure enough, the one spider had brought back four of its species to the body of the rat. The monsters moved slowly around the hall, none emitting a single noise. Even the tapping that Yuffie had become so accustomed to was eliminated. The spiders appeared to be, 'Searching? Are they looking for what killed the rat? Gawd, they just had to be smart.' Yuffie pushed herself away from the wall and moved towards Elena as fast as possible while remained silent. 'I hate mako.'  
  
"What is it?" Elena whispered as the girl reached her.  
  
"Nothing. Just some spiders." The Turk stiffened at Yuffie's answer. "Something wrong?"  
  
"I don't like spiders." Elena concentrated harder on the computer, pushing her fears to the back of her mind. A smirk, eerily reminiscent of a red head she'd clearly been spending too much time with, crossed Yuffie's features. Whispering, she leaned down to Elena's shoulder.  
  
"I guess it wouldn't help if I told you they seemed really smart. As in smart enough to be searching for us." Yuffie paused. "Oh, and they seem extra icky."  
  
Elena involuntarily shuddered and gave Yuffie a withering look. "How could that possibly help?"  
  
"It made me feel better. How far done are you?"  
  
"First copy is ninety-five percent completed." Elena gestured the bar on the screen in front of her.  
  
"So what are these files about anyway."  
  
"I don't know. I'm not about to take the time to read it in this hellhole though. Besides, that's why we're making two copies." Elena trailed off as one of the spider-creatures entered the room. The Turk visibly paled, causing Yuffie to turn and look, just as the beast let loose a threatening hiss, that was quickly followed by a nearby computer being thrown aside, likely to alert its brethren. Elena swore under her breath, and ejected the now completed first copy. Yuffie had already thrown the Conformer when Elena placed the second disk in and began copying. With the computer uploading, Elena pulled her pistol out of her holster and readied her Fire materia. The other spiders entered the room, and as Elena took aim, she heard Yuffie beside her.  
  
"This is fantastic. Fan-fu."  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
"cking-tastic." Reno called out, laughing as he battled alongside Rude. The two Turks pushed their way through the crowd of battling monsters, killing anything that got in their way. They reached near the middle of the room when they found themselves surrounding by a pack of wolves and dogs that had decided the two humans were the biggest threat.  
  
"Interesting." Rude said as he dropped a clip from his gun, and reloaded with a fresh one. Reno turned to look at his partner, while wiping the sweat that had begun to form on his brow.  
  
"Yeah, you're telling me. I haven't been in a brawl like this since Tseng tried to pick up that one Wutain chick, right in front of her husband. And all his friends in the Wutai Dragons." Reno kicked across hard in front of him and pulled his pistol out of his jacket. "You remember that? Man, we put down that entire gang in 15 minutes." Three shots later and a dead wolf lay at his feet.  
  
"I remember. Though, I also remember you flirting with the woman. Not Tseng." Rude's giant fist crashed down hard, shattering the skull of a nearby dog. Reno looked as thoughtful as possible for someone in such a dangerous situation.  
  
"But." The EMR flashed. "He was there. Right?"  
  
"Yeah, he was the one that knocked you out."  
  
"Oh right. Hey dude?" Another dog and wolf fall side by side to the remainder of Reno's clip.  
  
"What?" Rude cracked the ribs of the dog currently assaulting him  
  
"I miss that guy."  
  
"." If there hadn't been the sounds of mako enhanced monsters trying to kill each other around them, Reno would have been met with silence. "Yeah. Me too"  
  
"I." Reno seemed lost for words, the smirk wiped from his mouth. "I think we should go get the girls." A blast erupted from the EMR as Reno kicked out to his side, dropping a dog monster to the ground. He pivoted quickly and applied the electricity directly to the animal. Beside him, the muzzle of Rude's pistol flashed, and so did he as lightning tore through the room directly in front of them, clearing a path straight to the stairwell.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Yuffie realized quickly that the danger of this fight was not in the spiders themselves, but in just how much attention they would bring down on her and Elena. Easy enough to handle, Elena had returned to the computer while Yuffie held the last two at bay. The conformer flew from her hand and severed the right legs of one, while the other charged. Yuffie dove out of the way and caught the Conformer, before once again scrambling to avoid the sprayed web of the injured one. With another throw of her shuriken, the mako monster stopped moving altogether. A spindly leg slammed across Yuffie's back and she was tossed towards the nearest wall. Twisting while in midair, Yuffie tucked her head, and took the impact fully on her back. Slumping to the floor, she shook her head to clear it, and watched the final beast loom ahead of her. Gripping the Conformer tightly, Yuffie watched a green glow illuminate the room as the spider ignited in flames and thrashed about in its death throes. The power from Elena's fire spell faded and she waved a pair of small disks at Yuffie. The young ninja pulled herself to her feet, and met up with Elena by the door. Making a quick check, the blond Turk waved Yuffie ahead, and they began their descent. Worried of what may have been alerted to their location by the recent fight, speed was determined to be more important than stealth and the two women raced down the 19 flights of stairs to their destination. Reaching the lower levels, they found Reno and Rude standing back to back, guarding their escape route from any monsters that may have followed the group. Around them lay the corpses of monsters already foolish enough to attack them. Reno was the first to see Yuffie and Elena.  
  
"Did you get it all?" He asked. Rude turned around and Elena smiled at him.  
  
"Are you ok?" The stoic Turk asked, pointing to a rip in Elena's jacket that she hadn't noticed.  
  
"We're fine." She answered, as she inspected the tear. Then, holding up the twin disks with a bright smile, she turned to Reno. "And, yes I have it all. Let's get the hell out of here."  
  
The Turks and Yuffie moved quickly through the lobby, and Reno dropped back to run alongside Yuffie. In a low voice he asked "What about you? You alright?"  
  
"Yeah." Yuffie was more than a little surprised. "I'm good."  
  
"Good." Came the reply and once again, Reno was up alongside of Rude, keeping a sharp eye out for any threats.  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
The buggy hit a pothole in the path cleared ahead of it, and bounced one last time before screeching to a halt in front of the Shin-ra building. Cloud had the door open before the vehicle had stopped and was already staring towards the tower, sword in hand. The rest of the group poured out and stepped up to meet their leader. Red grimaced as he sniffed the air.  
  
"There has been mako enhanced blood spilt within the building. Large amounts I should say." Cid looked down at him.  
  
"Well that's a good thing, ain't it?" The pilot asked.  
  
"It could go either way I think." Tifa replied, and Red stepped up ahead of her and Cloud, sniffing the ground. Surprised the fire-beast lifted his head up, before slowly sinking back down and sniffing more carefully. Hesitantly, he turned back towards the group.  
  
"I'm fairly certain the Turks are here, if I remember their scents correctly." He looked to Cloud for a moment.  
  
"Well, that's not entirely unexpected. Let's end this." The blonde leader took a step forward.  
  
"Wait." Red spoke up again, and once more the group's attention was on him. "There's one other thing." Red turned away and smelt the ground once more, as if to reassure himself. Cloud looked at him expectantly. "Yuffie's with them."  
  
"Mother fucker."  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
"President Alexander, sir. The Turks are in the lobby and Avalanche is on the doorstep. Shall I alert Kassidy?"  
  
"Go ahead Davis." He took a drink from the glass that sat beside him. "And please. Call me Corin." Again another sip. "Provided this plan works of course."  
  
Davis nodded once before picking up the nearby radio and getting in touch with Kassidy's teams. "This is Davis. Avalanche and the Turks are about to meet. Get your men in position." 


	9. Chapter 8 I Fucking Hate Irony

Chapter 8 - I Fucking Hate Irony  
  
"Are you sure, Red." Cloud asked his beastly friend. "Is it possible Yuffie is just here on her own, not with the Turks?"  
  
"No." Red shook his head. "Her scent is mingled with theirs. They came together."  
  
Barret stepped up alongside Cloud. "What you think, Strife? She with us, or against us." Cloud looked up to his gigantic friend.  
  
"I really have no idea. But I've got a bad feeling about all of this." As they spoke, Vincent stepped past the two.  
  
"It matters not. If she is a companion, we will deal with it. If she is an enemy, we will be prepared for it." The former Turk stated, and drew his gun. "We will not solve any of the day's problem's worrying over possibilities."  
  
"The vampire's right." Tifa glared at Cid for his casual insult. "We should just head in there and get this entire mess figured out."  
  
"Alright, let's go then." Cloud nodded his agreement to his friends and AVALANCHE ventured toward the building. Cid was the first to reach the doors when he was slammed into. Reno hit the pilot running full speed, and the two tumbled away, unsure of just what was attacking them, but trying their best to kill it anyway.  
  
"What the fuck?"  
  
"Ah, my fucking head."  
  
"Go to hell asshole"  
  
"Who do you think you are, dick. I'll fucking kill you."  
  
The two finally separated, Reno rolling back to the Turks and Yuffie, who had just emerged from the building, and Cid rolled back to AVALANCHE. Shock registered on all faces except for Rude's and Vincent's. Reno was the next to recover.  
  
"What. The fuck." Reno didn't yell. He didn't get mad. He didn't do anything, as he turned and fixed his gaze on Yuffie. "Why?" It was a simple question. But it scared her more than she could possibly imagine it would.  
  
"Yuffie, are you alright?" Tifa asked, concerned about the young girl's company. Yuffie didn't even hear her. Her eyes were still locked on Reno's, a silent exchange settling between them. Reno's cold eyes flashed once more and he looked away.  
  
"Get th' fuck away from her!" Barret commanded as he raised his arm. Yuffie's head shot up in surprise.  
  
"Barret, no!" She yelled, but the gun-arm had already opened fire. The three Turks dove for cover and Tifa stepped forward to grab Yuffie by the arm, pulling her away, her protests going unnoticed by all but Red and Vincent. The two reserved AVALANCHE members shared a look before moving quickly to Yuffie's side. Rude had begun to return fire on Barret while Cloud, Cid and Tifa directly assaulted Reno and Elena. Reno danced away from the biting edge of Cloud's sword, as the Jenova-enhanced warrior swung mercilessly, absorbing or avoiding any blasts from the EMR.  
  
"C'mon Strife, you were never this slow. Getting a little out of shape with all this peace?" Reno taunted. Cloud only emitted a snarl of rage and charged again. Meanwhile, Tifa's constant attack kept Elena on the defense, and prevented her from launching any kind of offence. While Barret occupied Rude's fire, Cid found himself creeping over the wreckage of Midgar to get behind the bald Turk.  
  
Vincent and Red reached the girl standing off to the side, complete shock written on her face. Vincent's hands wrapped around her shoulders and gave Yuffie a quick shake.  
  
"Yuffie, this is important. Were you the Turks' prisoner." Red asked from beneath the girl's line of vision.  
  
"What?" Confusion registered in the girl's eyes.  
  
"Yuffie, did you come voluntarily. Do you trust the Turks?" This time it was Vincent who spoke. Yuffie's eyes were trained on the battle. Cloud ducked out of the way of yet another blast from the EMR, only to find that its intended target was that of Barret. The unexpected electricity ran through the black man's body and rendered him unconscious. Reno laughed as Barret collapsed, and Cloud redoubled his efforts to bring the Turk down. Cid had just reached Rude when Barret went down, and attacked the Turk head on.  
  
After seconds of silence, Yuffie finally seemed to understand the question. "Yes, yes I do trust them. We have to stop the others. We don't need to kill each other over this." The girl looked pleadingly at Vincent, then at Red. "Please."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Oh, Davis. This is positively fantastic. More than I could hope for. Two potential threats, wiping each other out. Fantastic. Davis, call Dr. Howari up here. I would love for her to see this." Corin laughed with absolute mirth as he watched the two groups of adventurers fight each other.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. Dr. Howari is not answering in her lab." Davis spoke as he set the receiver down again. "Perhaps she is busy preparing for the next stages?"  
  
Corin looked disappointed for a moment. "Yes, yes, very well." His smile came back in full swing when Barret hit the ground. While the president stared at the battle intently, Davis himself was observing the three people off to the sidelines. Stepping up to a separate monitor, Davis zoomed in on the image to find Yuffie, Red and Vincent conversing.  
  
"Now what are those three up to?" He whispered to himself. Turning his back to the screen, Davis walked up to his employer's side. "I believe that now would be the best time to give the order for Kassidy to prepare to move. I think the ninja girl is up to something."  
  
Alexander turned his attention to the girl and question, and with a simple disappointed wave of his hand, approved the suggestion. Davis picked up the radio and got himself in touch with Kassidy's group.  
  
"Kassidy, I have a feeling something's going to stop this fight. Be ready to move a moment's notice. And stick to the plan." If an answer came back, Davis didn't hear it. Hanging up, he turned back to the monitor's and watched Yuffie, Red and Vincent spread.  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
Vincent pulled himself away from Yuffie and took control of the situation. "Yuffie, you get Tifa, Red, get Cloud. I'll take care of Cid. Calm them down, and restrain them if need be. But protect them from the Turks should they continue attacking." And with that, he was gone towards Rude and Cid.  
  
Red risked a quick glance toward Yuffie before trying to get between Cloud and Reno. Yuffie lingered for a moment longer before spotting an irate Tifa and a battered Elena. The ninja shot off to the other two women, just in time to watch Tifa land a vicious kick to Elena's side. The Turk collapsed in a heap, holding her ribs as Yuffie arrived yelling for Tifa to stop. The martial artist lowered herself down and pulled back a fist, concentrating her energy on it, when somebody caught her arm.  
  
"Yuffie? What are you doing?" Tifa's expression was a mixture of frustration and confusion. Yuffie looked absolutely desperate.  
  
"Tifa, stop. Elena's not the enemy. Not yet, I don't think." Yuffie hesitated, unsure of herself. "Just stop for now. Please."  
  
Tifa lowered her arm slowly and got back to her feet, while Yuffie pulled out a cure materia, and helped Elena get back to her feet. Tifa spoke softly behind her.  
  
"I hope you know what you're doing."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Vincent arrived at Rude's and Cid's fight quickly enough, but the pilot wasn't listening to reason. Vincent was certain that Rude realized what Vincent was trying to do as soon as he arrived, and the bald Turk kept himself on the defensive, refusing to attack Cid and thus ensuring his own safety.  
  
"Cid, stop this. Rude has done nothing wrong." The ex-Turk's pleas went unnoticed, and Cid simply bit down harder on his cigarette, furiously attacking with his spear. Rude took a moment to shrug at Vincent before fending off another charge.  
  
"Highwind, would you stop and listen for a moment?" Vincent tried again, only to be ignored one more time. Deciding that nothing was getting through to his friend, and that Rude was not a direct threat, Vincent moved quickly and wrapped his arms around Cid, his golden claw gripping the spear.  
  
"What the fuck are you doing, Vampire? He's gonna kill us you little shit." Cid swore as Vincent lifted him off the ground.  
  
"No, I don't think he'll be a problem." Vincent calmly replied to his irate friend. Rude stood no more than three feet away, adjusting his sunglasses calmly. "Right now, we need to all relax and figure this out." When Cid finally stopped his struggling, Vincent readily released him. Looking over at Rude, Cid tossed his cigarette to the ground, stamped it out with his foot and flipped Rude off.  
  
"Alright." Cid said. "We'll do it the diplomatic way for now." He looked over at Vincent. "But if there's any bullshit, I'll kill them all myself." Rude simply shrugged in response.  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
While the other fighters were subdued relatively easily, Red was having no such luck halting the battle raging between Reno and Cloud. Reno's suit was nearly destroyed, blood seeping through small clean cuts, lacing his upper body. Reno still smiled and laughed, even while the sword sliced another shallow gash in his forearm. Twisting away from the attack, Reno countered, the electrical blast hitting Cloud flush in the chest. The swordsman staggered back a step, his clothes seared and peeling, revealing burnt flesh over multiple spots. Looking down for a moment, Cloud inspected the damage, then was back on his assault.  
  
"Cloud, Reno, cease in this madness. You have nothing to fight over." Red's loud barks went unheeded by the combatants. Unable to physically restrain either of them, he looked over at the group of people headed their way. "They will not listen. We must stop them now."  
  
Again, Vincent was the one to take control. "Rude, grab Reno. Cid, get Cloud. Tifa make sure Barret is unhurt and wake him up." Tifa nodded once as Yuffie handed a cure materia to her.  
  
Reno backed out of the way of another wild swing, only to stumble over a stray piece of metal embedded in the ground. Taking advantage of the situation, Cloud swung once again, and while Reno avoided the brunt of the attack, it cut deeply into his left arm. Reno hopped back a couple feet and looked at the injured arm hanging limply at his side, blood pouring freely from the wound. The smirk was gone from his face, and was replaced by anger as he switched hands with his nightstick.  
  
"That fucking hurts." Reno snarled, fury lacing his words.  
  
"It'll hurt less when you're dead, Turk." Cloud brought his sword up once more and charged. Reno stood completely still, watching the enraged hero rushing right for him. Even as the sword fell, Reno did not move. Just as the blade was about to enter Reno's neck, the Turk rushed forward, within the range of the swing for it to be effective. With a quick smirk and wink, Reno applied the EMR directly to Cloud's stomach, holding it tightly to his body. The electricity tore through Cloud's body, sending him into spasms as his muscles contracted, but before he could fall, the connection was broken as Reno was pulled away.  
  
"What the hell?" Reno turned around, to find Rude holding him back. He struggled wildly against his friend's grip, and saw Cid holding a raging Cloud back from attacking him. "What's going on."  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Pity. That was just getting good." Alexander turned to his assistant. "Davis, I don't think we'll be seeing the Turks or AVALANCHE destroy each other today. Guess we'll have to do it ourselves." He smiled at man to his side. "Send Kassidy in." Davis nodded once and turned away.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Reno, stop." Yuffie stepped out from the crowd, and addressed the Turk as he thrashed about. Stopping, he turned to her.  
  
"Why? So you can stab us in the back again?" Reno accused her. Hurt filled the young girl's expression and she turned away and hung her head, biting back the tears that stung her eyes. Tifa brought an angry and grumbling Barret over to the group and saw her friend's condition. Giving Reno a look of pure hatred, she threw her arms around Yuffie's shoulders and tried to console her. Cloud had calmed down by now, and Cid released him.  
  
"You just have to hurt everything don't you." Cloud gestured to Yuffie "Even the ones who might care about you."  
  
"What the hell would you know?" Reno, still wrapped in Rude's arms shrugged his friend off. He pointed at Cloud. "How could you know who I am? You don't even know who you are." This time, it was Reno who gestured Yuffie. "And I don't take well to betrayals." Yuffie's back stiffened at the comment.  
  
"Enough." Vincent stepped up. "Cloud, this is not the time." Cloud looked at Vincent defiantly for a moment, before meeting eyes with the rest of his friends. Realizing he was wrong, Cloud looked back to Vincent resignedly.  
  
"Sorry." Cloud said and went to stand beside Tifa.  
  
"As for you, Reno." Vincent continued. "You should be thanking Yuffie. She did not betray you, as we had no idea where she was until now. She is also the reason this battle has stopped. Despite this, you will talk to us civilly about the situation." Reno and Vincent locked eyes. "Or we will kill you."  
  
Reno's eyes held Vincent's for a moment longer before turning to look at Elena and Rude. After a silent exchange between the Turks, Reno turned back to Vincent. "Fine." He smirked. "We'll talk about it all friendly-like an together."  
  
"Actually, you can all die friendly-like and together." A voice boomed out around them and mere moments after it had finished, the two groups found themselves under heavy fire. The trained members of the group are what saved them during that first volley. Rude grabbed Elena and dove for cover behind an abandoned car, meeting Vincent holding a surprised Cid there. Cloud had protected Tifa, and met up with Barret and Red in a nearby abandoned building. Reno and Yuffie had both ducked behind fallen metal that lay strewn behind them. An explosion rocked the ground around them, and debris was thrown about the group. A small, but fast moving chunk of rock hit Yuffie in the back of the head, and she fell over unconscious. Reno quickly checked to ensure the girl was uninjured.  
  
"Everyone alright?" Tifa's voice called out. A chorus of affirmative answers came back.  
  
"Yuffie got hit on the head. She's out right now, but she'll be fine." Reno answered.  
  
"Very quick. Not a single shot landed." The voice spoke out again. "But I would expect no less from such an elite group like the Turks or the world's saviors."  
  
"And who the hell are you?" Cloud yelled out from his hiding spot, careful not to expose himself.  
  
"My name is Captain Kassidy. But you have more important things to worry about. Such as, just how are you going to get your friends out alive?" Cloud looked over to where Vincent was crouching and got his attention.  
  
"Where are they?" Cloud spoke loud enough for everyone but Kassidy and his men to hear.  
  
"Everywhere except directly behind us. I believe we are meant to go that way." Vincent answered.  
  
"Yeah, but we don't have a choice. And I think we need the Turks to help us. Truce for now?" Cloud addressed the suited individuals currently hiding among his own teammates.  
  
"Yeah, but once this is over, you're fucked Strife." Reno answered for all three of them.  
  
"Fine, once this is over."  
  
"Trying to formulate an escape?" Kassidy's voice boomed out. "You're welcome to try. But you will die. The only way out is for the Turks to give up that information they're carrying."  
  
Cloud looked over at Elena as she patted her pocket to ensure the disks still remained. In response, she looked over to Reno for an order. Reno shook his head. "Not a chance. Not till we know what's on those disks, or have no choice."  
  
Nodding, Cloud began to think. Speaking again he began his plan. "Alright, we have to go directly behind us, into Sector 2's slums. Turks, Vincent and Barret, we'll need cover fire. Reno can you carry Yuffie?"  
  
"Yeah, no problem." The red head answered.  
  
"Well? Do I have to needlessly kill you? Choose quickly."  
  
Cloud and Reno made eye contact and nodded. "You can kiss my ass!" Reno yelled and began firing where he thought Kassidy's voice was coming from. The other gunmen quickly joined him, and the group ran quickly away from the ambush, using what cover they could find, even as Kassidy's men returned fire.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Alexander switched the monitor in front of him, keeping the fleeing Turks and AVALANCHE in view. "Perfect, Davis. Kassidy is playing his part perfectly. The fools have no idea what they are getting into."  
  
The door to the surveillance room opened, and Dr. Howari entered. Alexander smiled broadly at his employee and motioned for her to sit in the chair next to his. Dr. Howari stood beside Davis. "When will the information be arriving Alexander."  
  
"If you'll look at the monitors in front of us, you'll see that everything is under control. We will have what we require soon enough."  
  
Kaylynn looked at the monitors. "Are those the Turks?" she asked softly.  
  
"They were the Turks. They're as good as dead now my dear."  
  
"Oh." Dr. Howari's eyes turned cold again. "Bring me the information." And with that, she left the room.  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
"We need to get out of the city. There's just too many spots for them to snipe us out in here." Reno yelled ahead to Cloud as he held Yuffie in his arms.  
  
"I know." The blond answered. "The Sector 2 gates are right over here." Cloud was cut off as gunfire sprang up in front of him, and the group slammed to a halt, everybody diving for cover once again.  
  
"They're trying to corral us Strife." Reno called out. "Pin us down." More gunfire came from the side. Cloud led the group away from the trailing gunfire and as quickly as it came, it ceased.  
  
"I suggest none of you move very far." Kassidy called out to them, still unseen. Cloud held up his hand and stopped the group. AVALANCE and the Turks found themselves in an open space under the last standing plate, easily assaulted from any hidden position. "Smart boy. It would be nothing to kill you now."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I've already told you. The disk the Turks have recovered. Give it up without a fight." A single soldier appeared from the wreckage and walked towards the group. Elena looked over at Reno.  
  
"Go ahead." Reno gave her permission. Elena nodded and pulled a single disk out of her jacket pocket. Walking over to the approaching soldier, she handed it to him, and stepped backwards to stand beside Rude.  
  
Kassidy did not speak until the lone soldier was well out of sight. "Well done, well done. Thank you for your co-operation. Now say your good- byes." Before the group could react, three explosions rang out from above them and the sound of metal screeching filled their ears as the Sector 2 plate was nearly blown loose immediately.  
  
"Oh my God, the plate's going to drop." Tifa's voice screamed out, laced with fear. She looked to Cloud for guidance. "What do we do?"  
  
Cloud himself was lost, unable to think clearly. "I don't know." He looked around for help. Any eyes that met his were filled with despair. The rest were fixated on the plate as it struggled with gravity to remain suspended. Elena's voice broke out.  
  
"What about the train maintenance tunnels?" Everybody looked at the female Turk. "They survived Meteor. They can handle this." Hope glimmered in everyone's eyes.  
  
"They need to be opened at an outside station." Rude spoke. "By a high-ranking Shin-ra employee." Reno's eyes met Rude's through his sunglasses for a moment. Then the bald Turk took off running.  
  
"Rude, no!" Elena screamed as she watched him go. Vincent's human hand wrapped around her waist and prevented her from chasing him. Suddenly, a flash of light spouted from within the crowd and a bolt of energy connected with Rude's back, encasing him in a golden pyramid. Reno handed Yuffie to Barret and ran off, towards his partner.  
  
"Sorry man." Reno looked him while Rude shook his head in protest. "You and Elena have too much ahead of you to risk. See you in a bit, bro." And with that Reno was gone.  
  
Elena batted Vincent's arm away and ran to Rude, punching the pyramid and shattering it. The two turned back to AVALANCHE who stood watching them in shock. Elena forced the tears away from her eyes and voice as she spoke. "Follow me. I'll show you where to go."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"This is stupid. I'm stupid. Rude's stupid. Elena's stupid." Reno paused in his rambling. "Yuffie's stupid." The plate still hung precariously over his head. "Fuck."  
  
Reno reached the maintenance building for Sector 2 and ran inside, heading straight for the Train controls. "Alright now. Let's see if I can remember these old codes." He began punching in numbers to the keypad in front of him. "This is so bloody stupid."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
AVALANCE and the Turks reached the electronically sealed entrance to the maintenance tunnels and waited. Cloud looked over at Rude and Elena, from his position beside Tifa. The female Turk looked distraught, worry lines creasing across her face while Rude himself appeared impassive with the situation.  
  
"So what does he have to do?" Cloud spoke to Rude. Slowly, he turned to him and adjusted his sunglasses.  
  
"In each sector there is a remote security station that powers the maintenance doors." Rude paused, and collected his thoughts.  
  
"Only a high ranking Shin-ra employee such as Reno has access to the codes to open these doors." Elena took over.  
  
"But how can there be power? The entire city is offline." Cid asked.  
  
"The power supply to those stations is connected directly to the Shin- ra building power supply. It was designed so that, even if a sector shuts down completely, these doors can still be opened. If we get through this, remind me to thank Reeve. A lot" She added with a downcast smile.  
  
"So we'll be fine, right? As long as Reno gets there before the plate drops." Even as Tifa spoke of it, the screech of metal tore through the air above them as another support snapped and the plate tilted down a little further. Falling debris scattered the group as they moved deftly to avoid it. While the dust settled, Elena spoke again.  
  
"Actually, we don't know how much longer the generator we jump- started can hold up. If the power cuts out before then..." Elena paused. "Well, we're screwed."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"President Alexander, Captain Kassidy is on the line for you, sir." Davis handed the receiver to his boss.  
  
"Thank you very much." Corin brought it up to his ear. "Kassidy, outstanding job today, absolutely outstanding."  
  
"Thank you, sir. The information has been collected and verified. It is currently being escorted to Gongaga."  
  
"Wonderful. My cameras went out when the bombs went off Kassidy. I'll assume all my enemies were destroyed." Alexander asked. He was met with silence. "Kassidy?"  
  
"The plate has yet to fall, sir."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The plate hasn't fallen yet. It's only mere moments away though." Kassidy reassured.  
  
"Did they escape Kassidy?" Alexander's voice took on a cold, dark tone.  
  
"No, sir. Our men are holding down the perimeter of the Sector. They can't go anywhere without us knowing."  
  
"Kassidy the moment that plate falls, you move your men to Kalm. If they escape, they'll be there. And don't report back until you're sure they're dead." The line cut out.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
The doors to the maintenance tunnels slid open so quickly and quietly, that the Turks and AVALANCHE didn't even notice until Tifa happened to glance at it.  
  
"Well holy shit." Cid exclaimed as the group of nine clambered under the cover of the tunnels. "The little bastard pulled it off."  
  
As the group moved on, Cloud stopped and looked back to find the Turks standing silently at the entranceway.  
  
"Cloud, let's go." Barret yelled back to his friend, Yuffie still in his arms.  
  
"Hold on a second. Elena, are you sure these tunnels will survive?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Yes, absolutely." She answered, her eyes never ceasing their search for a crumpled blue suit, or red hair coming towards them. Cloud turned back to AVALANCHE.  
  
"We stay."  
  
"What?" Cid looked at Cloud in disbelief. "You're bullshitting me."  
  
"No. As much as I hate to admit it, Reno is risking his life for us. We wait until there is no doubt either way. We owe these two that at least." With that, all discussion ended, and AVALANCHE waited with the Turks, some more willingly than others.  
  
"Can he make it?" Vincent asked.  
  
"He will." Elena answered quickly.  
  
"What if he doesn't return before the plate collapses." Red directed the question to Rude.  
  
"Then we seal the doors, or we die with him." Rude responded carefully.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Reno bolted out of the security building and dashed down the debris- covered street in front of him.  
  
"Piece of cake." He breathed heavily. "Not a problem at all."  
  
Turning sharply down the road, Reno's speed slowed to a walk as the plate above him gave one last groan of protest. Looking up as death descending on him, a smirk spread across his face, and Reno strolled calmly into a nearby building. Shrapnel fell all about him, smaller pieces biting into his body as he moved slowly onward.  
  
"Well, Tseng." Reno looked around him. "Looks like we'll be seeing each other sooner than I had hoped man." His head tilted up to the dropping plate that seemed to be heading straight for him alone. "I fucking hate irony."  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
The last groan rang throughout the whole of the Midgar ruins, but Rude didn't hear anything at all. His eyes darted about the fallen slums in front of him from behind his sunglasses. Beside him, he watched Elena cry out for Reno, but no sound reached him. His mind seemed to separate from his body as he watched his hand reach out, and punch in a sequence of numbers into a nearby console. The door slammed to a shut directly in front of him, and he didn't hear it. Even as he stood there in the darkness, he didn't hear a thing. Rude's mind didn't register any sound at all until the deafening crash hit is ears, crushing Sector 2, and all of his hope.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________  
  
Red's tail cast the first light about the group, and Cid's lighter joined it soon after. They stood together patiently as the roar created by the plate collapsing died away. Vincent's human hand landed on Rude's broad shoulder.  
  
"Come. We should go. He's gone."  
  
Rude nodded and wrapped his arms around Elena as she cried into his chest. Maneuvering her so his arm supported her, they joined AVALANCHE on their trek through the tunnels. Not a single word was said amongst them the entire time while they were lead by Red's tail and the Turk's flashlights.  
  
Soon enough, the group reached the exit of the tunnels and found themselves out in the barren land surrounding Midgar, still sucked dry of Lifestream. The sun beat down upon them, as Cloud finished radioing Reeve's men for a pickup while Yuffie woke up from where Barret had lain her down. The confused young girl looked around at her battered and melancholy companions. She groggily got their attention. "So we made it out, eh? I'm not surprised."  
  
Yuffie looked around again. "Hey, where's Reno?" The young girl asked innocently. Nobody would meet her eyes as she looked to each of them. "Guys?" The panic, fear and confusion slid gradually into her voice. "Where's Reno?" Off to the side, Elena began crying into Rude's chest again, and Tifa's eyes watered as Cloud held her loosely. A soft whisper hovered through the air around them all.  
  
"Where's Reno..." 


	10. Chapter 9 We're Not the Good Guys

Chapter 9 - We're Not the Good Guys.  
  
Dr. Howari stood in her lab over the shoulder of an assistant she hadn't bothered to learn the name of. In front of her, the latest test results were being entered into the computer for future use.  
  
"Kaylynn?" Corin called out, looking for the scientist. Dr Howari let out a sigh and looked down at her companion for the moment.  
  
"Good work. Keep entering the data. I have to go take care of a..." She looked over at the middle-aged man with the broad smile heading her way. "Pest problem."  
  
"I have some good news for you." Alexander paused as he arrived in front of her, waiting for the enthusiastic questioning that was sure to follow. He would wait a few seconds longer. "Well? Aren't you going to ask what?" He questioned.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh. In that case, I'll just have to tell you, won't I?" The president produced a disk from within his coat pocket. "The information I promised, milady."  
  
Dr. Howari looked at the object being held out to her hesitantly before reaching out and accepting it. "Thank you, Mr. President." She turned her back to him. "It was unnecessary for you to bring this to the lab yourself."  
  
"Always so proper, aren't you Doctor." Strong arms encircled her waist as Alexander pulled himself closer to her. "You know how much I hate that." Corin whispered into Howari's ear. She reached down and wrapped her hands around his. Then, with a sharp pull and two steps, she turned to face him.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. Perhaps another time. I have business to attend to with this disk."  
  
Alexander winked once before leaving the room. Dr. Howari walked into her office and closed the door behind her before settling down in front of the computer. Before she could place the disk in, a knock came at the door.  
  
"Come in." The door opened and Davis stepped in. "Oh. Hello Davis. What brings you down here?" A genuine smile appeared on the Doctor's pretty Wutain face. Davis was truly one of the few people around the Alexander Electric Company she enjoyed conversing with.  
  
"I just came to chat. Y'know, if you keep that up, he's going to get mad one of these days." The young man in the grey business suit spoke to his friend of their mutual employer's advances on her.  
  
"Let him get mad. It won't matter if I can just finish this project." She idly stared at the disk still in her hand. A moment later, she pushed it into the slot and loaded it up. Davis walked to her for a better view of the screen.  
  
"Will this work?"  
  
"Leviathan, I hope so."  
  
_______________________________________________________  
  
AVALANCHE arrived at Cloud and Tifa's home late in the afternoon, the remaining two Turks in tow. Yuffie and Elena's tears had run dry, but a dark cloud still hung over everybody's head. The group trudged into the quiet living room of the house, where most collapsed into the furniture for some much needed rest. Tifa went into the kitchen to prepare some food for them all.  
  
Elena sat herself down in a nearby chair, distancing herself from her former enemies. Rude stood behind her, eyes closed behind the dark sunglasses. Cloud walked up to the pair.  
  
"Listen, I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but..." Cloud was unsure how to proceed. "Thank you for today. You're welcome in my home until we can sort this all out. And..." Cloud looked at the both of them. "I'm sorry."  
  
A silence settled in the room as Rude and Elena nodded their appreciation.  
  
"I cannot believe Reno's actions this day." Red spoke distantly from his position on the floor."  
  
Barret looked over at Cid. "I just think its damn fitting that he got crushed by a plate."  
  
Elena was restrained by Rude as she jumped up in a rage, hell-bent on attacking the man in front of her. Unfortunately for Barret, nobody thought to restrain Yuffie until her foot collided with the side of his head. The large, black man was sent flying as he toppled over a foot stool, nearly landing on Red. Barret the ground hard, and looked up to find a furious Yuffie standing over top of him, Cid holding her back as she struggled.  
  
"Don't you talk about him like that." She screamed. "Don't you ever fucking talk about him like that." Yuffie calmed down enough to speak in a level voice. "You owe him your life, you ungrateful bastard."  
  
"Yeah, that may be." Barret said as he climbed to his feet. "But I also owe him Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge's deaths. Never mind the rest of Sector 7 and anyone else that bastard might have murdered."  
  
"One good deed cannot redeem someone for a lifetime of evil Yuffie." Vincent spoke from his spot in the corner.  
  
"And you would just know all about that, wouldn't you? At least he didn't wallow in self pity." Yuffie pointed an accusatory finger at the ex- Turk, who was unaffected by the insult. "And what about all of you? You think you're all so damn..." The girl was cut off by a tired-sounding Elena.  
  
"Yuffie, please stop. It isn't worth it."  
  
"What?" Yuffie turned around in shock and stared at the Turks. "How can you possibly say that?"  
  
"Because they're right." This time it was Rude who spoke.  
  
"Are you serious?" The ninja asked, still shocked.  
  
Elena stood up. "We're Turks, Yuffie. We're not the good guys. We're some of the worst bad guys. You've forgotten that. We may deserve everything that we get, but we will always keep our pride." And with that, she and Rude walked out onto the deck in front of the large Kalm house, leaving a dumbstruck AVALANCHE behind. Tifa spoke up as she came out of the kitchen, looking as surprised as the rest of her friends.  
  
"Dinner's ready. I think we should eat first, and then find out what's on that disk."  
  
Cloud walked to the kitchen. "Good idea, Teef. I'll go bring Rude and Elena some food."  
  
______________________________________________________________  
  
No more than half an hour later, the Turks and AVALANCHE found themselves once again assembled in the living room.  
  
"Elena, Rude? Can either of you tell us what's going on?" Cloud asked, determined to diffuse the situation quickly.  
  
"Yeah, why the hell did those guys try to kill us?" Cid tossed in his own question.  
  
"Well it's pretty obvious they were after that disk they gave them, idiot." Yuffie playfully punched Cid in the arm from her seat beside him. He raised his middle finger without looking at her. "What is on that disk anyway?"  
  
"I'm not sure yet, I haven't had the opportunity to look at it." Elena answered. "Give me a little time and I can tell you whatever you want to know."  
  
"Who was the information for?"  
  
"Alexander Electric Company." Elena gave Cloud his answer. "Now if you'll give me a second..." Elena retrieved the laptop Tifa had provided them with and inserted the disk. For the next couple minutes Elena read over the acquired information while AVALACHE idly chatted in waiting. The blond Turk looked up from the computer, slight concern on her face. "Vincent. Red. Can I have you two take a look at this with me?" The two heroes walked over silently. Elena turned to her partner. "I don't think we would have sold this disk Rude."  
  
"What?" Cloud looked up surprised.  
  
"Reno wanted to make sure what we were doing wasn't going to end the world, so he wanted me to look over this before we decided to sell it or not. That's also why we made the two copies, for a situation like this."  
  
"Bullshit, you woulda sold it anyway." Barret spoke up. Rude looked over at him impartially.  
  
"Believe what you want."  
  
Vincent and Red completed their own reading and conferred with Elena for a moment. Red began to explain what they had found.  
  
"The files that the Turks were to download contained information on three processes that Hojo had developed for Shin-ra: Mako Regeneration, Mako Enhancement and..."  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
"...Mental Dampening." Howari finished reading the list to Davis, who nodded once to show that she had his attention.  
  
"So what's Mako Regeneration?" He tapped the file on the screen in front of him.  
  
"Mako Regeneration is a procedure Hojo never quite had the time to test. The process is quite experimental, and definitely unstable. As a basic reference for you, it was originally no more than cloning. Hojo developed a method of storing DNA for the best of Shin-ra's warriors so they could never truly die. The idea was shelved by the Science department after it was discovered that the DNA could be presented in an unborn child, but to avoid any deformations, the aging process must be natural."  
  
"So basically, they would have to wait until the child matured to be useful."  
  
"Exactly. And president Shin-ra never was one for waiting around." The Doctor continued. "But Hojo kept working on it while he had the time. After re-evaluating his initial ideas, he found that if he used a corpse of relatively the same height, build and age as the original DNA's host, he could literally regenerate the first subject through meticulous bonding of the corpses' DNA with the hosts'."  
  
___________________________________________________________  
  
"How?" The question came from Tifa.  
  
"It seems that with an intense application of mako added to the DNA strands of the host, the DNA would literally take over and apply itself instead." Red stopped.  
  
"It is very similar to the procedures involving the introduction of Jenova, or any of the demons within me." Vincent added.  
  
"So what you're saying is whoever has that disk now, provided they've got the right equipment, can bring back anyone they want?" Cloud's face paled at the prospect, as a name fluttered through his mind. "Oh, God."  
  
Elena clicked on a particular file and reviewed it quickly. "Basically, but it's not that simple. The DNA can regenerate the bodies' form in its entirety, but only concepts or memories that were completely engraved into the brain's structure should be retained." The majority of the people around her stared at the Turk, confused. "That means the actions that you've performed so much that you don't even think about them any more, which boils down to language for some people." She paused. "But in well-trained individuals, fighting styles, weapon knowledge and skills like that have become second nature. They would be part of the new person, but that person would not have any of their original memories left."  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
"He won't?" Davis asked suddenly. "But wasn't that..." Howari cut him off.  
  
"I believe that given enough time and cues, the lost memories can be rediscovered..." Dr. Howari looked down. "They have to be."  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
"No, it says here it isn't possible for those memories to be recovered." Elena answered Cloud's question.  
  
"You said 'Mako Enhancement' too didn't you?" Tifa asked. "Like what they did with SOLDIERS?"  
  
"Almost, but not quite." Red began speaking again. "This seems to be a more developed process than what we've heard of. Instead of showering or immersing the subject in mako, a miniscule amount is injected directly into muscle groups, where it would spread. It seems Hojo found it was a more effective method as the only test subject gained extraordinary strength, speed and intelligence, even compared to the 1st class SOLDIERS. This procedure could be applied to somebody with or without previous enhancement with no ill effects."  
  
"Wait. You said only subject right? Who the hell was that?" Cid played with his lighter on the couch, focusing on it, instead of those he directed the question at.  
  
"Uhhh." Elena scrolled down the screen. "It doesn't say. Just the initials. J.K.?" Everybody in the room shook their heads, nobody able to identify the person.  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
"Him? Really? I guess that explains a lot."  
  
"Yes, it does." Howari kept explaining Hojo's notes to Davis. "The procedure is more than simple enough. After it's completed, 'the subject'..." Kaylynn said in disgust. "As Alexander likes to call him, will be even more powerful than ever before."  
  
"Corin will be happy with that. What about this 'Mako Dampening' you mentioned."  
  
Kaylynn looked angry again for a moment. "That is the one part of the procedure I do not agree with, despite its obvious necessity. It was developed in order to completely control all of Shin-ra's more... dangerous employees."  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
When Yuffie asked about the Mako Dampening, Elena and Rude's faces both became very dark. Vincent looked over at them. "I believe this is the Turks place to tell. They would have the most experience in this situation."  
  
"Rude more-so than I." Elena kept her head down.  
  
Rude adjusted his sunglasses. "Hojo perfected his formula on us, the Turks. Or more specifically, on Reno." 


	11. Chapter 10 Francis Prances in Pink, Fril...

Chapter 10 – Francis Prances in Pink, Frilly Pantses  
  
"It was about 10 years ago when they brought Reno and I up to be Turks." Rude began. "There had been a rebel group before AVALANCE, I forget the name, that had been giving Shin-ra some major trouble. Not destroying reactors, but a lot of personal threats to high officials. It was enough for the fourth generation of Turks to be sent in for." Rude looked over at Vincent momentarily.  
  
Vincent shook his head. "No, I belonged to the third generation."  
  
Rude looked back to the rest of AVALANCHE. "Unfortunately, during this time President Shin-ra still had faith in Heidegger, so he took direct control over the entire operation. Which meant the infiltration was his planning too. Of the four Turks that went into a building that contained the entire rebel faction, only Tseng walked out. He was the only person to walk out of there, Turk or other. After that, Shin-ra cut the Turk budget, and we were brought down to three members."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Reno stepped into the room and looked around quickly before setting his ratty duffel bag down on the ground beside him. Kneeling beside it, his red bangs falling in front of his face, Reno removed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Another quick search of the room yielded his destination, and he sat himself down on the couch across from him. After putting his feet up on the table in front of him, flakes of mud falling about it, he lit the cigarette and happily puffed away.  
  
"I don't think there's any smoking in here." Reno glanced over to the door and found a bald man looking over at him. Well, man was a bit of an understatement. 'More like a mountain that crammed itself into a suit. Fuckin' roid-monkey.'  
  
"And what makes you say that?" Reno asked between drags. The bald man didn't answer verbally, and instead opted to point over Reno's head. Craning his neck up, the red head found a large "no smoking" sign hanging above of the couch he still sat on. "Yeah, that would probably do it." He said, more to himself than to the other man with him in the room. Hopping up to stand on the couch, Reno flicked a switchblade out of his pocket and went to work. Seconds later, he held the sign he had pried off the wall in his hand, and tucked it under one of the couch's cushions. "Ahh, much better right?" He took a puff of the cigarette and looked back at... "So what's your name buddy?"  
  
"Rude." Reno frowned a little.  
  
"What, I'm not being rude anymore... There's no sign to say I can't smoke." Rude shook his head.  
  
"No, my name is Rude."  
  
"Wow, mean parents."  
  
"You don't know the half of it." Rude looked up at the discoloured patch of wall where the no-smoking sign once hung for all to obey. "Got a light?" Rude pulled out a cigarette and sat down.  
  
Reno sat talking at Rude for the next couple minutes, in conversation comprised of basically anything and everything that popped into the red head's mind, creating the first of a trend that would be repeated multiple times over the coming years. Shortly thereafter, a tall Wutain man entered the room.  
  
"Reno. Rude. Come with..." He stopped and looked above the couch for a moment. His dark eyes drifted down to the cigarettes held between each man's lips. A quick assessment of Rude's un-emotion, and Reno's attempt to look innocent, gave Tseng his culprit. Settling his glare on the smallest of the room's occupants, Tseng raised one eyebrow as Reno shrugged. Creating the first of a trend that would be repeated multiple times over the coming years.  
  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
"This place sucks."  
  
Rude looked up from his position sitting on one of the workout mats strewn about Shin-ra's personal gym. "What?"  
  
"This gym, this building. It all sucks." Reno lay flat on his back, a quick hand wiping the sweat away from his eyes. He sat up and looked around. "Look at all these tools, man. Running their lives away on those treadmills, just so they can look good for their bosses. Always so neat and tidy. You just know some of these people are just filthy slobs on the inside." He looked at his callused hands as he waved him in front of his face. "Just like the rest of us."  
  
"So why do you stay?"  
  
"Huh?" Reno looked over at his new friend, who didn't repeat the question. "I dunno. Nowhere else to go. Tseng didn't exactly give me any options"  
  
Rude pushed himself up to his feet. "You didn't sign up for this?"  
  
Reno did the best he could and got into a sitting position. "Hell, no." His eyes clouded over "Tseng found me passed out in an alley, blood seeping from a knife wound in my side. Healed me up when he saw the four bodies inside the building I fell out of." A grim smile passed over Reno's lips as he stared off into the distance. "It was the least I could do for her." He spoke to himself.  
  
Rude gave a quizzical look, but did not question the faraway look in his companion's eyes. Extending a hand, he pulled Reno up to his feet. "So you won't leave?"  
  
"No. But I won't end up like them." Reno waved his hand around the room. "Not like some mindless drone..."  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Tseng, man, you've really gotta lighten up buddy. We're friends, right? Don't be a dick." Reno called from behind the thick curtain separating him from his boss.  
  
Tseng held his head in his hand. "Reno, put on the suit. Properly, if its not too much trouble."  
  
The curtain slid back. Reno stood there in his new suit, already wrinkled and crumpled, the tie hanging around his neck, untied no less, with a shirt buttoned up in all the wrong ways. "Actually..." He placed his sunglasses into his unruly hair. "It is."  
  
Tseng's foot, then fist, shot out quickly, striking Reno and forcing him back into the changing stall. Another kick to the ribs, and the new Turk went down hard. Reno looked up at his boss "What the hell?"  
  
The Wutain bent down in front of Reno. "Outside of this building, and on missions, yes I am your friend. I will be your best friend." He grabbed the tie from around Reno's neck. "But in here, I am your superior, and you will do exactly as I say. And the same goes for orders from Heidegger or Rufus." Releasing his hold on the young man, Tseng stood up again. "Should you fail to comply, you will be disciplined." He lowered his voice again. "Don't make things hard on yourself."  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Reno... Late again. And in improper attire no less. Will you never learn."  
  
Reno pulled the sunglasses off of his eyes and glared at Heidegger, and at his small squadron of men behind him. "Oh, give me a break fat man. It's Monday. I'm not up for this shit."  
  
Heidegger snapped his fingers and a few guards stepped forward to restrain the Turk. Reno did not fight back. He had learned that it didn't help anything. Heidegger's horse-laugh rang throughout the room they stood across from each other in. "I don't care what you're up for little man." The Shin-ra executive stepped up to his underling. "But I think it's time for a little eye-opener, slum rat." Again, he snapped his fingers, and one of the guards planted the butt of his rifle into the base of Reno's skull. He staggered on his feet for a few seconds, confused, before slumping to the ground and succumbing to unconsciousness. "You." Heidegger pointed to a foot soldier beside him. "Go inform Tseng of the situation."  
  
The guard nodded once and jogged off to the elevator. Stepping off on the Turks personal level, he found Tseng standing beside his desk, staring out towards the great glacier. "Sir?" the guard called for the leader of the Turks attention. Tseng waved a hand behind his back in acknowledgement. "Turk Reno has been escorted out of the building. His two month hiatus begins now."  
  
"Very well. You can go." And with that, the guard was gone. Tseng stood silently for the next few minutes. Not after long, Rude stepped in.  
  
"Tseng? Have you heard from Reno? He's later than usual."  
  
"I know." Tseng still did not turn around. "He's been sent to the Icicle Inn detainment facility. President Shin-ra and Heidegger think it will do some good to have another obedient Turk."  
  
Rude's fists balled up as he slid them into his jacket pockets. "And you allowed this?"  
  
Wearily, Tseng turned to his friend. "It was either this, or take the order to kill him ourselves. Turks can't retire, Rude."  
  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Reno woke up and realised that it was dark. And cold. Very, very cold. With a groan, he pushed himself up into a seated position and cradled his head in his hands. Then he looked down at himself. "Oh, God. Please, please tell me I'm not sitting here in just my boxers..." Reno stopped. "Who the hell am I praying to?"  
  
"Hey, you up?" Reno heard a voice that seemed not too far away, most likely just outside the small room he determined that he was currently residing in. "Hey, he's awake. Let's go." A door flew open, and light flooded the room. Reno squinted into a low sun, silhouetting the man in front of him. "Get up. An welcome to the Tank."  
  
"The Tank? Up in the great glacier?" Reno watched the guard lock handcuffs into place on his wrists before leading him out the door and into the biting cold. "Whoo, boy. What've I gotten myself into this time."  
  
The masked guard looked back at him. "A whole heap of trouble, boy. Now shut the fuck up before I take your head off."  
  
Reno sized the guard up, and couldn't help but laugh. "You have any idea who I am?"  
  
"All I know is you're the one wearing handcuffs, and I'm the one with the big ass gun." He planted the butt of his rifle into Reno's stomach. "Now shut up."  
  
"Right, so just how long am I scheduled to be up here?"  
  
The guard stopped in his tracks. "Seriously. What did I just say." He punched Reno in the face, and the Turk's head rocked back. "Shut your stupid mouth before I break your jaw."  
  
Reno shook his head to clear it. "Go ahead. I don't stop talking for anybody." This time it was the guard's turn to laugh.  
  
"We'll see about that."  
  
"Francis!" A voice up ahead called out to the pair. "Let's go already."  
  
"Francis?" Reno asked with a goofy grin spread across his face.  
  
"Yeah, that's my name. What of it."  
  
"Francis..." Reno looked thoughtful. "as in 'Francis prances in pink, frilly pantses?'" The gun slammed into the side of Reno's head this time, and he dropped to a knee. Chuckling lightly, Reno spoke loud enough for Francis to hear. "Guess so. I think we're gonna be great buddies, Francis."  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Ahhh, Mr. Reno. We're honoured to have such a prestigious... guest... among us here at the Tank." A giant of a man paced in front of Reno, a baton twirling in his hand. "We've had Shin-ra executives up here before, but a Turk? Never."  
  
"And just what am I doing here." Reno asked from his position. "'Here' meaning more than just upside down, attached to this bloody machine."  
  
"As my understanding has it, you haven't been behaving very properly. So Shin-ra is having you re-educated." The man walked over to a small computer, linked to the machine Reno resided within at the moment. "Welcome to your first lesson." Throwing a switch, Reno's body was flooded with electricity, as he bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from crying out. After a few moments of pain, the voltage died away. "And how was that warm up."  
  
Reno coughed, the blood that filled his mouth spewing out. "T- tickled. That all you got, fancy-pants?" With a smile, the man turned a dial quickly, and activated the electric flow. This time, Reno couldn't help but cry out sharply.  
  
"My name is Captain Dixon. You'll address me as such."  
  
Another cough racked Reno's body. "Dixon? You've gotta be kidding me. Between you an 'Francis' this is gonna be one hell of a vacation."  
  
The smile disappeared from Dixon's face. "This is hardly a vacation. Don't forget that." The machine was activated yet again, and Dixon left the room to leave Reno with his battle to stop from screaming.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Reno was there for two and a half more weeks, brutally tortured and brainwashed until he was the model Shin-ra employee." Rude looked around the room, the occupants focused on him completely.  
  
"Fascinating." Red spoke up. "I had no idea such a place had existed."  
  
"Well, it wasn't exactly in Shin-ra's best interest to tell everyone where they kept their worst enemies." Elena responded. "At least, the ones they hadn't killed yet."  
  
Tifa raised her hand like a schoolgirl. "So Reno was re-educated then, or whatever? He doesn't really seem like it."  
  
"Yes, well. That's the thing about Reno. Nobody really knows what he's thinking."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Reno, I must say I'm disappointed. I thought such a renowned Turk would have lasted in my fine establishment for at least a month. But here you are, exactly what Shin-ra asked for, less than three weeks later."  
  
A blank stare met Dixon's gleeful one. "I apologise, Sir. Your disappointment is solely my fault. I'll report to electroshock therapy." Reno stood, in full Turk suit, with all the pieces in place.  
  
Dixon couldn't help but laugh. "No, no, m'boy. You've done wonderfully. In fact, you get to go home. Doesn't that excite you?" He received no answer. "Ah well. At least my job is done. Get onto the helicopter Reno."  
  
The Turk remained silent once again, as he turned and walked up to the helipad, as snow whipped around him. Francis stood by the stepladder, his gun resting on his shoulder. "Looks like you're riding with me, loser." Francis smirked as Reno passed him and climbed into the helicopter. Francis entered behind him. "Now I want a quiet ride home, so no talking, got it?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"General Heidegger, Lieutenant Maclaren, reporting with Tank subject number 4536, Reno." Francis saluted the fat man in the green suit. He received a short one in return, as Heidegger focused on the serene Reno that stood behind him, also saluting obediently.  
  
"This is fantastic. Completely reformed, I take it?" Francis nodded. "Perfect. Now that he's back, I'll go show off my success to the President." Heidegger turned and rushed out of the room, leaving Reno alone with Francis.  
  
"Geez, the President? Do you think, I'll get my promotion finally?" Reno didn't answer him. The lieutenant turned his back to the Turk. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." He quieted down. The two stayed in silence for a couple minutes longer. "Man, I just can't wait to get out of the Tank. Maybe I'll even get stationed here in the Shin-ra building."  
  
"Oh, I don't think you need to worry about ever leaving this place Francis." Francis gasped sharply in surprise, as a hand clamped around his mouth.  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Mr. President, Sir, it's just through this door here." Heidegger pushed it open, still facing President Shin-ra. "The Tank reports that Reno has been completely reformed right...down...to the..."  
  
Heidegger trailed off and gaped alongside the President at the body of Francis Maclaren, hanging from the room's solitary ceiling fan. A Turk issue tie hanging from his neck.  
  
Shin-ra turned to his general. "Explain, Heidegger."  
  
"I..." Heidegger was completely confused. "I don't understand... They said he was completely docile until orders were issued."  
  
"Well, I was a master thespian in my grade 9 drama class." Reno stood behind them, sunglasses in his unruly hair, and a crumpled and unbuttoned suit adorning him. He took a quick bite of the apple he held in his hand. "At least, I would have been if I had gone to school."  
  
Heidegger pulled the pistol from his hip holster and levelled it on the man in front of him. Reno calmly enjoyed his apple. It was the President who stopped the General.  
  
"Don't you dare pull that trigger Heidegger."  
  
"What?" For the second time in as many minutes, Heidegger was confused. "Why?"  
  
"Because it would cost to much to re-train a Turk. You blew it with this Tank idea of yours. Now you have to live with that mistake." With that, the President walked away.  
  
Heidegger was red in the face due to anger and embarrassment. "You!" he pointed at Reno. "This is all your fault. You were reformed they said. A perfect employee."  
  
Reno began walking past his superior, towards the elevator. As he became shoulder to shoulder with Heidegger, he paused. "You can't break me, fat man. Nothing can." Then, he was gone.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
The trio of blue suited men sat at the round table, the drinks in front of them as different as they were. Nobody in the rest of the bar dare cast a glance towards the boogeymen of Shin-ra. Waitresses flipped coins in the back to see who had to serve them their next round. Even as the other patrons did their best to drown out the skinny one's unruly voice, it rose another octave.  
  
"Hey, do you guys remember that time we were in Cosmo Canyon?" Reno laughed loudly in anticipation to his own story. "And Tseng starting laughing at that joke I told and just about shot his big toe off?" Rude chuckled lightly and Tseng gave Reno a disapproving look. "Oh, man. You shoulda seen your face. It was priceless."  
  
Reno pounded the table in front of him with his fist, still howling wildly. Tseng smiled to himself and took a slow sip. "I would imagine it would have been something akin to the time Rufus kicked you in the groin for not dressing properly."  
  
Reno stopped laughing. "Hey, when I said 'give me your best shot, little man' I thought he was just going to shoot me in the leg or something. He didn't have to be so harsh." The trio laughed together for a few more seconds before dropping off into silence.  
  
"I'll be right back." Tseng stood up and headed to the washroom. Rude looked over as Reno finished off the last of his drink.  
  
"Why don't you?"  
  
"Why don't I, what?" Reno asked, confused at the sudden question.  
  
"Why don't you ever dress properly. You've been getting the shit kicked out of you almost everyday for 2 years now. Just do up some buttons."  
  
"Not a chance."  
  
"Maybe you should think about it. Stop being so stubborn."  
  
Reno paused. He didn't like the tone of his friend's voice. "Why? What's going on?"  
  
"I'm not too sure." Rude shrugged. "But I think Tseng isn't going to be able to hold the President back from putting you in place much longer."  
  
It was Reno's turn to shrug. "Let them fire me, kill me. I don't really care."  
  
"Yeah I know. But he might approve some of Hojo's proposals." Reno visibly paled. "Just think about conforming once in a while... For your own good."  
  
Reno swirled the ice around in the now drinkless glass he held. "I don't like my own good."  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
Reno sat in a simple chair, centred in the middle of a plain white room. Tseng stood with his back against the only doorway, massaging his temples. Silence hung heavy over the room as Reno struggled not to say anything stupid. 'Which basically limits me to saying nothing.' His foot started tapping, slowly at first, but gaining speed as he fought harder and harder not to open his mouth.  
  
"So I..."  
  
"Don't." Tseng held up a single hand to stay Reno's mouth. "Just... don't." Finally, the Wutain released his grip from the sides of his head and sighed heavily. "Now, why exactly did you light the President's desk on fire while he was out to lunch?"  
  
"I didn't."  
  
Disbelief shone through brightly in Tseng's eyes as he moved to a different spot on the wall. "You're going to tell me you didn't do it." Reno nodded. "Even with the security tape." Another nod. "And the testimony of fifteen people you invited into the office to 'check out' what you did." A pause. Then a fervent nodding.  
  
"I didn't set his desk on fire. I set his potted plant on fire. The desk catching was just a bonus."  
  
Mere moments after completing his explanation, Reno watched the door to the small room open, and the most powerful man in the world walked in.  
  
"Mr. President." Tseng gave a slight bow. "How can I help you?"  
  
"I need to speak with you privately Tseng."  
  
"Very well."  
  
The two stepped out of the room and closed the door behind them. "That Turk's actions are inexcusable Tseng. We can't have a threat like that walking around."  
  
"Sir, Reno is..."  
  
"I said 'inexcusable.' As in no excuses. Discipline has been ineffective and he cannot perform this way." President Shin-ra's look stopped Tseng from protesting. "Yes, I understand that he is a very proficient Turk. Which is exactly why I'm not having you take him out back and shoot him. But you can't protect him anymore. I've given the go-ahead for Hojo to begin implementation of his 'Mental Dampening' procedure. Order Reno down to the lab immediately. Escort him if need be." And with that, the president turned on his heel and walked back down the hall. Tseng stood outside the door for a moment longer, digesting the information. Then with a heavy hand he stepped back into the room with his friend still seated in the chair.  
  
Reno's mouth was not curled into his usual smirk, but instead drawn into a straight line. His eyes were downcast, staring a few inches in front of his feet. "I have to go see Hojo, don't I." Tseng didn't answer. Instead he walked up to the red head and extended his hand. Reno looked at it, then stood up unassisted. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." 


	12. Chapter 11 That’s a Little Cliché, Donch...

Chapter 11 – That's a Little Cliché, Doncha Think?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Reno poked his head through the doorway and stepped hesitantly into Hojo's darkened laboratory. Speaking softly, he spoke out. "Hello? Anybody here, Oh, that's too bad I'll come back later." Without waiting for any such response, he turned around quickly, and almost stepped directly into a scrawny, grinning scientist. So he did what any normal person would do.  
  
"AHHHH, AHH, OH God, OH GOD!"  
  
He screamed. A lot. Hojo cringed at the sudden noise in front of him, and watched Reno vault himself backwards, over a examination table and basically through a few storage boxes, all the while fumbling for his gun. After a view seconds of silence, Hojo slowly walked toward the pile of fallen boxes, his hands folded neatly behind his back. He found Reno still on the ground amidst crumbled boxes, one hand covering his eyes, the other grasping his gun and flailing about wildly.  
  
"Mr. Reno?" The gun focused on Hojo and the scientist took a step out of the line of fire. Slowly, Reno's hand uncovered his eyes, and the Turk looked up at Hojo.  
  
"Oh, it's just you. I thought it was one of your..." He trailed off.  
  
"One of my what?" Hojo unclasped his hands and reached up to his chin.  
  
"One of your uhhh..." Reno searched for the word  
  
"Experiments?" Hojo offered.  
  
"Well, I was going to say 'freaky and fucked up perversions of all that is Holy.' But hey, experiments work too."  
  
Anger flared across Hojo's eyes briefly before he forced himself to calm down. "Come with me." Hojo began to walk away.  
  
"Why? Where're we going?" Reno pushed up to a standing position and followed the smaller man.  
  
"To the 'fun room.'"  
  
Reno stopped dead in his tracks. "God, Leviathan, Odin... Hell, Shiva, I even promise not to stare at your tits if you help me out here... But y'know, God would be spectacular."  
  
This time it was Hojo who stopped. He turned his head to look darkly at the Turk behind him. "Yes, well... Good luck having Him help you here."  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Reno lay strapped to the examination table, chest exposed. His eyelids lay open, but the eyes stared off into the distance, glazing over as the anesthesia took hold of his system. Hojo looked up from the syringe he carefully filled with a clear liquid. "You should consider yourself lucky, Mr. Reno." Setting the syringe down on a workbench, Hojo strolled over to his subject, a twisted grin smeared across his face.  
  
"An... An why's 'hat?" The slurred question was forcibly ejected from Reno's mouth, which then did it's best to twist into a smirk. "Y-you d'cided y'r more o' a...flower man? You p... pa...pans... Wuss?"  
  
"No, no. Though botanical studies do have their uses. No, you need to understand that you're a very lucky man..." Reno started to drop off into oblivion as Hojo placed the tip of needle over Reno's heart. "I do my best work with you Turks." Even in his drugged state, Reno heard the malice spewed out over his title. It was the last thing that he heard.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
Shaking his head, Reno's long, red bangs cascaded over his eyes as he sought to clear his blurred vision. Moaning slightly, he willed himself to brush the bangs away, before realizing he could move neither his arms nor his legs. Panic shot through him quickly before he forced himself to calm down and try to remember his current situation. Finding even the simplest mental tasks exhausting, Reno began to perspire, yet still remained calm, Turk training dictating that panic never helped anything or anyone. Finally, Reno remembered where he was. And who he was with. The panic rose up through him again, more savagely this time, as his eyes darted from side to side, searching for his captor, and a way out of the restraints he had identified as being the source of his immobility.  
  
"I really hate this place." He whispered as he struggled against the adamantine binding him. Behind him a doorknob turned, and the Turk on the examination table relaxed his body to appear still unconscious for a while longer, until he could formulate a plan. Listening to the echoing footsteps as they moved around the lab, Reno kept a mental tab on what he could only assume Hojo's position was. The footfall circled around, pausing every so often, each time a different machine beeped and printed observational results. At last, the scientist stopped just behind Reno's head and waited.  
  
"You can stop faking now you know. Half the machines in this room can tell me exactly when your cognitive processes started up again... in fact, I've got one devoted entirely to telling me when a subject awakens."  
  
Reno opened one eye and looked up at the small man. "Really? Can you let me go and point me towards it? I feel like breaking shit." Hojo pulled a small black controller out of his pocket with a large red button on it. Reno craned his neck as best he could and raised an eyebrow. "That's a little cliché, doncha think?"  
  
"No." He pushed the button, and Reno cringed internally at the shock he was certain would follow. Instead, he found himself free. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he vaulted himself to his feet and turned to face his experimenter. He found Hojo pointing of to his right. "It's that one over there. You're more than welcome to destroy it... If you can."  
  
"I'll do it, you sick fuck... you should be worried what's going to happen when I'm done. I'm feeling sporty today, so you should take this chance to run." Reno walked up to the indicated machine and drew his foot back.  
  
Hojo spoke clearly and concisely. "Stop." Suddenly, no matter how hard he fought, Reno couldn't seem to force his foot into the machine in front of him. Instead, his leg lowered to the ground. A few seconds of contemplation later, Reno looked back.  
  
"What the hell did you do to me?"  
  
"Only what I was ordered." Hojo responded, a gleeful smile on his face. Snarling, Reno rushed the little man, who stood defiantly. As the Turk reached Hojo, he spoke. "Hold it right there." Again, Reno found his legs frozen to the spot, no amount of conscious willpower able to move them. "Although..." Hojo stepped up to Reno and grabbed his chin. "Sometimes orders aren't all business. This? This was definitely a pleasure." He slapped Reno.  
  
Reno growled deep in his throat, but was unable to act on his anger. Hojo continued talking.  
  
"All you Turks are the same." Hojo walked over to a computer monitor mounted into a nearby desk. Reno found himself able to move again, but unable to assault the head of science. "You think you're the most important people in the world, the most dangerous. Untouchable... The monsters of Midgar... Well, it seems like every last one of you needs to learn a little lesson."  
  
Hojo picked up a syringe. "Sit." He commanded sharply. Reno was compelled to take a seat and remain there, even as Hojo approached, the needle's tip glistening in the lab's light. "Every last one of you needs to understand..." He rolled up Reno's sleeve. "There are real monsters around this world. When you've run into one, you'll realize that you're nothing more than a simple human. Nothing more than pathetic, moronic, and inescapably..." He forced the needle in with a laugh. "Mortal."  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Thank you for your time Lord Godo. Fare well until our paths cross again." Tseng stepped out of the Pagoda, and joined a waiting Rude. "That was simple enough. I can't seem to understand why Shin-ra scheduled our return flight three days from now. We don't have any other business to attend to here."  
  
Rude shrugged once. "Vacation time?"  
  
"Well, it is now. I don't think it was unintentional though. I can't help but get a bad feeling about all of this."  
  
The two Turks walked on in silence, ignoring the crowds of people that parted in front of them. Finding themselves in a busy intersection as the sun lowered beneath the horizon, Rude and Tseng looked to their left and their right. Turning the hotel to their backs, the friends casually strode into the nearby Turtle's Paradise. Settling into a pair of stools at the bar, the tender came over to them quickly, recognizing them from previous visits.  
  
"What can I get you gentlemen?"  
  
"Usual stuff." Rude answered him.  
  
"Uhhh. Right. Will there by a third joining you?" Tseng looked up. The bartender swallowed nervously. "The uh... the red-headed fellow"  
  
"No, just us, Chaz. Thank you." Chaz walked away, leaving the two men at the bar to their own thoughts.  
  
"You don't think Heidegger will try anything with Reno again, do you?"  
  
Tseng turned his head slightly at Rude's question. "No, I don't think so. I'm certain he learned his lesson from the Tank incident." Tseng paused. "And if he didn't, the President did. He won't waste money again."  
  
"You sure about that? He wasn't too impressed with the loss of his desk. He even told you to escort Reno to the lab."  
  
"I know, I know. But Reno's too valuable to have Hojo touch. I was given Shin-ra's word that he was scheduled for a routine physical, then protection duty..." Tseng trailed off. Chaz arrived with their drinks and set them down quietly.  
  
"His word, huh?" Rude took a small drink. "How much is that worth?"  
  
Tseng took his own drink in hand and swirled it. "A whole lot of nothing."  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
The light emitting from the monitor before Hojo reflected in his glasses. He typed away at his keyboard, referencing every so often to the clipboard off to the side. A knock on his door caused him to look up and momentarily discard his research.  
  
"Enter." The door opened quickly, and Heidegger strolled in. Hojo sighed softly and looked back to his work. "What is it, General."  
  
Heidegger stopped in front of the seated scientist and looked around. "I want to know how that Turk is doing? Is he obedient yet?" He picked up a paperweight off and inspected it. "Failure won't be accepted Hojo."  
  
"The subject is responding very well to the treatment. Mental blocks are enforcing themselves nicely. No signs of his body rejecting it yet, though I will need to keep him for a week observation to be certain."  
  
"Tseng and Rude return tomorrow. You have until then to complete the procedure."  
  
Hojo rose from his seat and rounded the corner of his desk. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind assisting in a few tests I intend to conduct."  
  
"Gya hah hah. I'd be honored, professor. Just show me to the whelp." The two high-ranking Shin-ra officials stepped into the lab that adjoined Hojo's office. There, Reno sat on a chair, casually flipping a switchblade high in the air and catching it on his descent. Already, thin cuts crisscrossed his palm and fresh blood dripped to the floor.  
  
"Reno, get up." Hojo ordered. Reno looked away from the rotating blade and to the two men that stared intently at it. Without direct concentration, Reno miscalculated his catch, and the blade dug deep into his hand.  
  
"Ow." The Turk dropped the blade and spoke blandly as he got to his feet, an unusual smirk, even for him, crossing his face. "What is it professor. Is it needle time? You know how I love needle time." A small glint appeared in Reno's eyes as they darted about the room.  
  
"No, not right now." The scientist answered. "The General will be helping us today."  
  
Reno moved calmly towards Heidegger, stopping only inches away to look down into the shorter man's eye. They faced off, a grim look of determination on the Turk's face. "Yeah... I remember you." Heidegger's hand slid slowly towards his pistol. Suddenly, Reno poked his superior's face. "Nice scar." Then, just as quickly, he hopped backwards and reached up to his own face. "But mine are cooler." Reno turned away from the two and picked up the discarded knife, wiping it clean on his pants.  
  
Heidegger turned towards Hojo. "Dammit, Hojo, what did you do?"  
  
"I've done what was ordered. He'll follow your every command, and do it without sympathy, compassion or remorse. All the specifics you look for in a model Turk."  
  
"But he's insane."  
  
"A minor side-effect. Besides, you yourself have called him insane multiple times prior to this experiment."  
  
"Yes, but..."  
  
"But nothing. He'll be obedient. You need nothing more than that. I anticipate no further complications. The Turk will be ready by tomorrow as requested. Good day General."  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
The helicopter touched down on top of the Shin-ra building as the sun settled into the western horizon. Two figures hopped out and onto the cold concrete, their ties flailing in the wind from the chopper blades cutting the air above them.  
  
"I hate Midgar weather this time of year, don't you Rude?"  
  
"Wutai was nicer." Rude fixed his sunglasses and jammed his hands into his pockets. "Reno loves it there. Where is he?" He asked his superior.  
  
"I'm not sure actually. Normally after being separated for a couple days, he's waiting for us at the helipad, begging to go get hammered. Or have me get him out of something." Tseng answered, adding a smile. "I guess we should go see what kind of trouble he got himself into while I was gone."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kassidy sat in the passenger seat of his transport vehicle, reviewing tapes of the Midgar operation he had just partially failed. He searched tape after tape, looking for any clue to AVALANCHE and the Turk's destruction, or escape, if that were the case. A knock on the window broke his concentration. He opened the door.  
  
"Sir, we've located AVALANCHE. They're currently regrouping in Cloud and Tifa Strife's home here in Kalm. Your orders?"  
  
"Get all the search teams there for a full breech. Shoot to kill."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
President Shin-ra entered the Turk lounge, a fully dressed Reno in tow. A fully, properly dressed Reno in tow. The red head stood straight behind the President, hair pulled back into a clean ponytail, tie neatly knotted, and all buttons done up on a tucked in dress shirt beneath a closed suit jacket. And for the third time in his life, Tseng swore.  
  
"What... the fuck."  
  
Even Rude's usual demeanor broke, and the man looked in a state of complete shock. The President smiled broadly.  
  
"I know, it's such a blow to the system to see the boy dressed like this." Shin-ra chuckled. "I nearly had a heart-attack myself. But this..." he indicated Reno. "Is the future of the Turks. I expect you both down in Hojo's office tomorrow morning. As of right now, Rude please take Reno outside. I need to speak with Tseng privately." After the two newest Turks had left, the President turned back to his lead Turk. "I have to warn you Tseng. There's been a slight case of..." He searched for the word. "Insanity..." Tseng's brow furrowed slightly. "I know, it's worrisome, but Professor Hojo has insisted it is due only to Reno's previous mental instability. We felt it was acceptable considering his new-found obedience. However, should the same side-effects begin to arise in either you or Rude in the slightest, the procedure will be reversed immediately. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rude looked about the room. "Now, all of you have had contact with Reno at one point or another."  
  
Cid spoke up. "Yeah... Not exactly the most sane guy as it is. So that's cause of Hojo?"  
  
"Not exactly." Rude answered. "How you know him is comparatively normal, how he was prior to Hojo's mental dampening... for the most part. During the following weeks after Tseng and I returned from Wutai, Reno was different and increasingly sadistic. He wouldn't even go to the bar."  
  
Yuffie, eyes again damp with tears, looked up. "Bullshit."  
  
"That's what I was saying, but..." Suddenly, Rude stopped, and Red began furiously sniffing the air. Vincent exchanged a look with the Turk and they both drew their guns.  
  
"What's going on?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Everybody, get low and away from the windows." Vincent ordered, as he, Rude and Elena moved to the windows to look outside.  
  
Red padded up to them. "They're moving all around. Completely surrounding the building. I have my nose to help me, how did you two know they were out there?"  
  
"The street traffic has halted completely. I'm assuming they blocked off the roads." Vincent answered. "I count eight out front."  
  
"I only see six." Elena spoke up. Rude laid a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"There's eight. Two in the windows of the house across the street."  
  
"Oh. What now?"  
  
"If we stay in here, we're dead. Too much crossfire."  
  
Cloud and Barret crept their way over. The blond leader looked out the window. "There's a side exit I doubt they would have found by now. We can get out that way, but it's an open field. It'd be only a matter of time before they found cover and picked us off..." Cloud trailed off as he began to formulate a plan in his mind.  
  
"They're getting ready to move." Rude updated.  
  
"Ok, fine." Cloud mumbled, then spoke up. "We're splitting. Barret, Tifa, Red and Elena, you come with me to the side exit. When they come in, we head out and drop who we can. Tifa, take some defensive materia, Red, you and me have the offensive. Move quickly, we don't have much time." The group he directed was led by Tifa to the side exit. "Cid, Vincent, Yuffie and Rude. You need to find cover fast. You're taking out anyone who comes in here."  
  
"You're fucking kidding me." Cid lit a cigarette fast and pulled the spear up from beside him. "Oh, this is gonna be a fucking blast.  
  
"Hey, we need you and Yuffie to cover Vincent and Rude in case anyone rushes them. All you have to do is hold on long enough for us to catch them in a crossfire. It's the best option we have right now."  
  
"Fine, fine. God damn, if I die? Shera's gonna fucking kill me."  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
"All troops in position, Sir."  
  
Kassidy smiled menacingly. "Move in." 


	13. Chapter 12 OopsToo late

Chapter 12 – Oops... Too late.  
  
"Yuffie, front door, Cid, back door. Cover your eyes and ears. When you hear the flashbangs go off, you charge them, but stay out of our line of fire." Vincent issued orders to his companions, who nodded in acknowledgement and rushed to their assigned positions. Mere moments after they reached safe positioning, the lights in the building cut out, and Vincent lowered himself behind an over turned table, his back towards Rude.  
  
"Go, go, go!" Cid could hear Cloud from where he was, ordering his team out. Gritting his teeth and literally tearing apart the cigarette between them, Cid released the grip on his spear and covered his ears and eyes tightly. An explosion and blinding flash rocked the little home, and for Cid, time seemed to slow down. As he sat crouched, he couldn't help but wonder how the blast would have felt had he not been prepared, his ears ringing still. However, the sound of shattering glass broke through his reverie and his hands found his spear again. Gunshots tore through the room in small bursts, destroying anything they ripped into. Vaulting himself over the counter he had used for cover, his drove his spear into the back of an unsuspecting assailant. Assessing the situation as best he could in the darkened room, he took note of a couple of bodies crumpled together near the back door. Whatever remained of that particular assault team was currently pinned down nearby, but where, he had no idea. Cid crouched low, hoping he had remained out of sight for the time being. Suddenly, an unmistakable green glow illuminated parts of the room before it lit up completely, as a high level Bolt spell struck one of the unknown attackers full in the chest before flinging him across the entire room. During the flash of lightning, Cid had seen where the three closest to him were hidden from the Turk's fire. Taking in short breaths to steady himself, Cid dashed toward the pile, throwing himself amidst them, spear and fists flailing wildly, not giving a stationary target at any time. His spear pierced the chest of one of the men he battled and stuck, forcing the pilot to release his grip on it. Cid kicked the one directly in front of him, sending the dark figure tumbling backwards as his gun clattered away. Falling over the couch the attackers had been using for cover from Rude and landing in the open, that man quickly fell prey to well placed gunshots. Then, turning quickly, he slammed his fist into the temple of his last target. As the man crumpled, Cid pounced, pinning him down beneath him and completely helpless as Cid pounded him mercilessly. One final blow forced the gunman's head into the hardwood flooring beneath him, splinters flying out the sides as the body finally went limp. Triumphantly, Cid stood up straight and looked around, catching his breath. Spotting his spear, he began to walk over, unconcerned of the gunfire concentrated on the other side of the home. Suddenly, over the roar of the gunshots, Vincent's voiced rose up.  
  
"Cid, get down!" Surprised, Cid looked over, a confused expression covering his features. Then, just as unexpectedly as Vincent's unheeded warning, a large hand grasped the collar of his bomber jacket, and pulled the pilot over a couch and onto the floor, just as a single bullet decimated the chair had been standing in front of.  
  
"Holy fuck..." The near-death situation seemed so surreal to Cid as he gasped for breath. Rude released his grip on the man below him and switched his gun hand.  
  
"Head down." Rude reloaded her pistol while reprimanding the captain. "I can't be saving your ass every time you do something stupid."  
  
Seeing his friend out of harms way, Vincent turned his attention back to supporting Yuffie. The ex-Turk and young ninja were completely pinned down, the well-trained assault team keeping a heavy fire, and reloading on a rotation so as not to leave themselves open. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the house, as one of the second story's walls was blown out. As the explosion died away, multiple footsteps worked their way across the hallway above them. With the house quickly filling with enemy soldiers, Vincent found the situation becoming more and more desperate. Looking over at a near-panicked Yuffie, Vincent began to focus his mind. He concentrated hard and closed off the surrounding gunfire from his mind. Then his body began to burn.  
  
Cloud's attack team burst from the house and into the field that lay behind. Sprinting around to the front, Red took the lead and began to mentally prepare the materia that resided in his headdress. Spotting a heavily armed figure taking cover behind a neighbor's fence he released the pressure that had begun to build in Red's quickly moving body. The fire beast stopped, and flames erupted around the man, his screams alerting the rest of the unknown attackers that remained outside. As they turned their attention towards the unexpected second group, the assault team was scattered by Barret's wild gunfire and Elena's more accurate bullets. Any shots returned were easily blunted by Tifa's rigorously maintained Barrier spells. The group found cover behind a nearby house and Red's constant barrage of spells bought them time to think.  
  
"Cloud, look!" Tifa called out to her love, pointing wildly at a helicopter that dropped more assailants onto their roof who quickly moved into the second floor.  
  
"Hell... We need to take care of these outdoor threats and get back in there." Their attackers suddenly launched a offensive attack, and Tifa's Barriers began to fade. Acting quickly, she recast the spell, and panting with fatigue, Tifa dropped down to two knees. A wide-spread Ice spell tore and return fire dropped the remaining soldiers outdoors.  
  
"Cloud, you have to get back inside to help the others. There's no real threat out here. I can handle anything else." The fallen woman said between heavy breaths of air.  
  
Cloud looked down at Tifa, a worried stare in his eyes. Elena spoke up. "She's right, they'll need us back in there after that secondary team moved in."  
  
Cloud looked back to his decimated home. "Alright, we're going. Barret stay here and take care of Tifa."  
  
Cloud, Elena and Red bolted off towards the house again as Tifa stood up beside her friend. "You ok Teef?" Barret asked, obviously concerned.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired. But you have to go make sure there's nobody left out here." Barret seemed apprehensive to leave. "Go, I said I'll be fine." Nodding once, but obviously still hesitant Barret rounded the corner, and looked down the street. A lone man, holding a single handgun stood in the middle. The founder of AVALANCHE went out to face him.  
  
"Barret Wallace. Nice to finally meet you." The man called out.  
  
"An who the fuck're you?"  
  
"I've introduced myself before. I'm Kassidy, Wallace. I'll be the one to destroy AVALANCHE."  
  
The transformation occurred quickly this time, and Cid crouched shocked beside Rude. No matter how often he had seen these transformations, they always instilled a fear into the pilot and it took everything he had to ignore what his eyes were screaming at him, and remember that his friend was buried inside of there, no matter how deep. Just as the Chaos demon emerged from where Vincent had only moments ago been, Cloud, Elena and Red burst through the front door, and found themselves faced by Rude's pistol. Identifying his companions, Rude turned his attention back to the beast that took slow step by slow step towards terrified assault members. The room fell silent as the Chaos demon raised its head toward Kassidy's assault team, an unearthly smile spreading across its face as glistening fangs showed themselves. A horrified scream erupted from the back of the group, and that served as Chaos' signal. With a bloodcurdling roar the beast tore through the air and into the armored attackers, rending them limb from limb. The members of AVLANCHE and Elena turned away from the gruesome sight, as screams of pain tore into their minds. Rude looked on curiously, forcing himself to observe the scene and learn what he could. Within seconds the carnage was over, and Vincent stood in his cloaks once again. Silence reigned as all eyes fixed on the ex-Turk, who was staring at his golden claw, a contemplating gaze in his eyes. Then, a small shiver passed through Vincent's body, and the majority of the group jumped as gunshots sounded loudly outside.  
  
A look of horror crossed Cloud's face as her Tifa scream out in protest. "Tifa..." he whispered, a sound picked up only by Red and Vincent. Cloud again tore out through his door and looked out into the street, AVALANCHE right behind him.  
  
Barret had wasted no time opening fire on Kassidy, who amazingly danced away from the barrage.  
  
"You can't beat Mako enhancement, Wallace. The strong get stronger, the fast get faster and the smart get smarter." Another burst of gunfire rang out and Kassidy dashed off to the side away from the bullets, so quickly that Barret barely followed the movement.  
  
"What the hell?" Barret questioned, as Kassidy leaned up against a wall, twirling his gun around his finger.  
  
"I know, I know it's amazing isn't it. But, as fast as I am, I'm not invincible." Kassidy looked down at himself. "At least not yet." He looked up again at an astounded Barret, and began to walk over, holstering his gun. "You're bound to get lucky if I let you keep shooting like this."  
  
Barret's gun arm came up as fast as he could make it, but a single gunshot rang out and Barret felt his arm go numb and drop like dead weight. He allowed himself a grunt as the pain spread out from his shoulder. Kassidy's smoking gun was again in his hand, the draw having been unbelievably fast. Two more shots rang out, nearly as one, and Barret collapsed, the bullets piercing his thighs.  
  
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Kassidy taunted, standing mere feet away from Barret. "The great Barret Wallace. On his knees, ready to die." The gun came up and was held unwaveringly inches away from Barret's head. "Where are your friends to save you this time, I wonder." The hammer clicked back. "Oh well. I suppose you'll die wondering."  
  
"Barret, No!" Tifa's scream rang out, and Cloud burst out of the house to see his friend with a gun to his head.  
  
Kassidy smiled at them. "Oops... Too late." The single gunshot rang out through the small Kalm suburb.  
  
Davis entered the office to speak with Alexander. "Sir, I don't believe Kassidy's plan is going to work. AVALANCHE is simply too resourceful, too powerful."  
  
Alexander held up his hand to silence the man. "I know Davis. But it's worth a shot. Besides, perhaps a failure on Kassidy's record will teach him that he isn't a God." Alexander looked back at a nearby screen. "Though, it does seem like he's about to take care of a Mr. Wallace. That should be more than enough of a blow to slow AVALANCHE down. At least for a while."  
  
"Or it will only serve to anger them..." Davis trailed off, speaking more to himself.  
  
"Oh, I agree, that's a very likely outcome. But no matter what happens, things will certainly get... interesting."  
  
The moment before his gun went off, Kassidy felt the power of a materia being unleashed. Bracing himself for what would prove to be a futile effort to knock his aim off, Kassidy looked down to watch Wallace die. Confusion quickly spread across the enhanced soldier's face. The bullet hovered millimeters from Barret's forehead, as a silver sheen surrounded the kneeling black man. The bullet floated a moment longer, before falling harmlessly down to the dirt. Kassidy looked up.  
  
"Not even Barrier could have stopped a bullet from that range. You fools actually have access to a Shield spell? Unbelievable good luck." He looked over as Tifa collapsed into unconsciousness, the light still fading from a materia that rolled out of her hand.  
  
Kassidy stood for a moment, considering the turn of events. He couldn't help but admire this group of 'heroes.' They managed to not only escape certain death in a well-planned assault, but they took out his entire team without suffering a single casualty, saving the only near-death with unrelenting will. With no support, and the whole of AVALANCHE currently out for his head, Kassidy found himself with no choice but to run. Faster than nearly anyone could follow, he was gone, the A.E.C. helicopter on route to evacuate him.  
  
Cloud immediately took control of the situation. "Red, Cid, take care of Barret. The rest of you, split up and see if there's any of these jokers left alive, cause I could really use some answers right about now." Turning his back to his companions, Cloud jogged quickly over to Tifa. "Teef? Hey, Tifa, wake up love."  
  
Still laying prone, Tifa's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Cloud. "Hey." She said with a weak voice.  
  
"Hey you. How're you feeling?"  
  
"Tired. Is Barret alright?"  
  
"Yeah, he's gonna be just fine. You did so good."  
  
"Thanks... Hey Cloud?" Tifa's eyes closed again.  
  
"What is it honey?"  
  
"Is it ok if I take a nap?"  
  
"Yes, of course, whatever you – "Cloud stopped mid-sentence, seeing Tifa already asleep beside him. Lifting her up, he carried her sleeping form over to Red, Cid and Barret, the injured man being supported by a grumbling pilot.  
  
Barret looked up at the two. "Hey, how's she doing?"  
  
"She's just exhausted from over-using the materia. She'll be fine. What about you?"  
  
Barret grunted with pain. "Nothing some rest an' materia won' fix."  
  
Cid also grunted from under the bigger man's arm. "Yeah, I'm gonna need a couple days off after this. Fuck, lose some weight."  
  
"Hey, Cloud!" Yuffie stood at the shattered doorway of the blonde's home, waving him over. "One of these clowns is still alive. We can ask him some questions after we pull his head out of the floor."  
  
"Finally..." Cloud breathed a sigh of relief. "Something seems to go right."  
  
Kassidy sat in the passenger side of the helicopter looking out window. Touching down at the A.E.C. headquarters, he hopped out quickly and was met by Davis.  
  
"Good job out there buddy." Davis clapped slowly. "Three teams nearly entirely wiped out, and not a single kill to show for it. Outstanding really."  
  
"I got the disk, didn't I?" Kassidy snarled.  
  
Davis simply smiled softly. "Yes well, if the only intention of this mission had been to retrieve the disk, we would have simply paid the Turks for it. Instead, we have a very pissed off entire AVALANCHE and a very pissed off entire Turks to deal with now, and they will likely be expecting an attempt on them. Again, I've got to congratulate you on this fine effort."  
  
"Actually, the Turks aren't a full group."  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"Reno wasn't in Kalm. It seems that he didn't quite make it out of Midgar. Which is a shame really. I always hated him, ever since my days in Shin-ra. I had been hoping to personally kill him."  
  
"Oh... Well, one out of ten ain't bad." He slapped Kassidy on the shoulder. "C'mon, President Alexander wants to talk to you."  
  
Jon came back to consciousness quickly, and shook his head to clear the pain away. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself in a darkened room bound to a chair. Then, in what he assumed was a corner, his vision locked with a pair of piercing blood-red eyes that seemed to bore into his soul. The captured soldier looked away immediately. Jon wished for the lights to turn on, to prove he wasn't stuck in some hellish nightmare. When his wish was granted, he instantly regretted it. Feeling himself shrink in his seat, Jon looked back and forth between two of the biggest, and most mysterious, names in mercenary history. Rude and Vincent Valentine. And here he was, tied to a chair at their mercy.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
Jon knew better than to screw around with these guys. A.E.C. simply wasn't paying him nearly enough. "Jon Wickstrom."  
  
"Who do you work for?" Vincent asked again.  
  
"Alexander Electric Company."  
  
Cloud stood behind, out of the prisoner's vision, in disbelief of how well this was going. He could only assume this 'Jon' simply wasn't an idiot. But he was still curious. "Why are you being so co-operative?"  
  
The man didn't seem at all surprised by the third voice behind him, instead he turned his head enough to glance at Cloud through his peripheral vision. "Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea what kind of legends these two are?"  
  
"Good point." Cloud mumbled to himself before settling back against the wall.  
  
Vincent resumed his questioning. "What does A.E.C. want with AVALANCHE?"  
  
"I'm not given the specific details of it, but our orders were to destroy the Turks and AVALANCHE after securing the data collected from the Shin-ra building. After the initial plan fell through, our orders carried over into the attack at Kalm."  
  
"You don't know anything about Corin Alexander's plans?" Vincent glared deeply at the seated man.  
  
"No, I have no idea. I was just hired on for this job."  
  
Vincent nodded once and turned to Cloud. "I have no doubts he's telling the truth. We have all we need to know already."  
  
This time Cloud nodded. "Alright... good job." Cloud took a few steps towards the door when he noticed Rude was removing his gun from its holster. Cloud turned back as the tall Turk aimed directly at Jon's head, who didn't say anything, though the fear shone evident in his eyes. "Whoa, whoa!" Cloud yelled, waving his hands to get Rude's attention. "What the fuck are you doing?"  
  
Rude looked up impassively, gun unmoving. "We're done with him."  
  
Cloud stood, shocked. "Well that doesn't mean you have to kill the guy..." Cloud looked over at Vincent. "Does it?"  
  
The ex-Turk shrugged. "Usually, yes."  
  
"Oh..." Cloud looked back at a helpless Jon, as he silently pleaded for help. "Yeah, well, regardless. We're under my roof, we do things my way got it? And that means no murders."  
  
Rude raised a single eyebrow up over his sunglasses, and slightly shrugged. Then he holstered the handgun and stepped back. "Up to you." Then he and Vincent left the room.  
  
Cloud stood beside Jon in the now empty room, who looked up gratefully. "Hey, thanks a lot man."  
  
"Yeah..." Cloud wound back his fist. "No problem." The blonde swordsman then left the room as well, leaving the unconscious Jon slumped over in the chair.  
  
A small, yet heavily armed squadron of Reeve's men moved through the destruction that was left of Sector 2. The president ordered the hasty search party after the demolition had been reported, and he had received no contact from the rest of AVALANCHE.  
  
"Sir? Come quick, I found something!" One of the men yelled out to his group leader. The captain hurriedly jogged over to his subordinate.  
  
"Holy shit..."  
  
"I think he dug his way out..." The solider pointed towards what appeared to be a makeshift tunnel leading deep into the wreckage. "That's unbelievable."  
  
"Is he injured?"  
  
"Yeah, he's got a pretty nasty gash in his side. But I think he just passed out from exhaustion and some blood loss. What do we do?"  
  
"Slap some restraints on him and heal him up for transport. He is a wanted criminal."  
  
The solider hesitated. "Y'know sir... we could just leave him here to die. The world would be better off."  
  
"I know. But he's our only link to what happened here so far. Unless something else comes up we need him. As much as it sickens me..." the Captain turned to walk away. "Now load him up, and lets get going. There's nothing else here." 


	14. Chapter 13 Maybe I Just Missed

Chapter 13 – Maybe I Just Missed.

Cloud entered the small Kalm hotel that AVALANCHE had nearly rented out by themselves. Followed by Rude and Vincent, he stepped into the lobby that currently held his companions. Yuffie looked up expectantly at them.

"Well, what did you find out? Who's ass do I have to majorly kick?" Cloud couldn't help but smile at the young woman's enthusiasm. He took a seat in the nearby couch between Cid and Tifa. Vincent moved quietly to a corner close to the blazing fire in the hearth. Rude opted instead to stand directly behind Elena.

Cloud placed his hand easily in Tifa's and began speaking. "As far as we can tell the guy told us everything he knew, and provided that information is correct, we're brought back to the Alexander Electric Company. Now we just need to piece a plan together." All eyes still lay locked on Cloud as he stopped speaking and looked down at the floor. A few seconds later he raised his head and realized everyone was still waiting for him to talk. "Oh... I don't really have a plan." Cid gave him a dirty look. "Well, not yet." Cloud defended himself sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"I think the appropriate course of action would be to gather evidence." Vincent spoke loud enough for all to hear in the silence that had overtaken the room.

"Agreed. Should Hojo's notes really be going to the Alexander Electric Company, the next logical step would be to travel to Gongaga. Once there, we can determine the easiest way to learn what we need." Red provided his input.

Elena placed her hand upon the one that covered her shoulder and looked up at Rude before addressing AVALANCHE. "Anything that you need from us, whether its skills or advice, we'll offer them whole heartedly." She paused and looked down at her black heels. "All we would dare ask in return is to tag along to Gongaga and the chance to take down these assholes."

"You're damn right." Yuffie spoke up from her position.

Cloud looked over at the two Turks and nodded appreciatively. "Of course. And I think it will be only a matter of time before we look for your help. Thanks." Rude nodded slightly, and Elena only smiled lightly. "It's nice to have a destination at least. Ok, so first thing tomorrow we head out to Gongaga... "

"Jus' so long as shit don't hit the fan, you feel me?" Barret spoke up from the couch he alone occupied, resting up from his injuries.

"Yeah, go ahead and jinx it. Good job." Yuffie stuck her tongue out at the older man.

* * *

"Again Kassidy? How did you manage to fail again? It's simply inconceivable that someone in your position, with the absolute best that my company has to offer is first outwitted, and then beaten back by a group of people claiming to be 'heroes.' Simply inconceivable."

Kassidy bit back a sharp retort, opting instead to choke out "I'm sorry, Sir. I understand the unacceptability, but these people, they are resourceful. Two planned assaults have only brought them one casualty, and nearly full losses for..."

Alexander cut him off. "I don't really care." The president sounded exasperated. "The important thing is you carried out your primary objective. I suppose that's something. With those notes, it's only a matter of time before AVALANCHE and the remaining Turks are destroyed. However Kassidy, bear in mind that your only saving grace will be that they don't prove to be too much of a nuisance."

"Yes sir, understood."

* * *

The canopied truck barrelled down the crudely prepared road, it's back to Midgar as the headlights struggled to give the driver some semblance as to what was in front of her, and the windshield wipers fought hard to ward off the rain that fell down heavily. In the distance lightning flashed, and illuminated the path ahead of her.

"Shit!" The wild chocobo appeared suddenly in the middle of the road and stared uncomprehendingly into the headlights of the truck. Serving quickly, the massive truck's weight shifted, and the driver attempted to right it immediately. Getting back into the centre of her lane, the driver breathed a sigh of relief and concentrated on the upcoming road even harder. Behind her she could hear the laughter of the men travelling in the back.

"Hey, Sandy." One of the men yelled up, still laughing. "Let's have a couple more of those. It tossed this son of a bitch around like a rag doll."

"Is he alright Hank?" Sandy called back, a little worried that if her prisoner were harmed, she would be blamed.

"Who gives a shit?" Hank murmured to himself before checking the slumped body on the floor of the truck. "Yeah, he's fine I guess. Still out like a light and still properly secured." He threw a vicious kick into the man's ribs and laughed. "Hey guys, you should try that... It actually makes you feel a little better about keeping this lowlife alive."

One kick followed another as the four men crowded around the fallen form and howled with laughter at the brutal assault. "Gentlemen." A calm voice from spoke from the passenger seat in the truck. "That's enough." The men immediately followed orders and took their seats. Hank placed the prisoner back where he had been seated and made sure he was still properly secured. Again, the man who was obviously the leader of the group spoke. "Hank, you started this, you heal him." With that, he tossed back a medium level cure material. Hank silently let the green light wash over the beaten man's body, as bruises faded and cuts closed. "Is he still unconscious?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now let's make sure he stays that way. Sandy?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Where are we?"

"Well, I believe we're just coming up on landmark two Captain."

The captain waited for a few moments. When no further elaboration came he asked. "Which means?"

"We're coming up on the fork in the road leading from Midgar to Kalm or our base."

"This sounds like my stop then, doesn't it?" An unfamiliar voice spoke up from the back of the truck, slightly startling Sandy.

"What the hell?" Hank's surprised voice spoke loudly, as his prisoner sat calmly rubbing his wrists where discarded handcuffs had bound him only moments before. Suddenly, the prisoner was out of his seat and across the truck in a flash, wrapping his arm around Hank's neck and holding him up in front. No sooner had a hostage been taken, that the other soldier's guns came up and the panicked orders were thrown at him to 'let him go' and 'get back in his seat.' The prisoner only smirked.

"Sir?"

"Just keep driving, we'll handle this." The captain addressed Sandy's unspoken question.

Suddenly, four shots rang out, and two guards clutching at their arms and thighs fell as the prisoner held Hank's now unholstered handgun. Sandy hit the brakes hard and the group of three standing in the back were sent flying forward. Twisting himself in mid-flight, the prisoner managed to place Hank between them before slamming into the wall of the truck, the unconscious soldier sliding from his grasp. Two more shots and the prisoner was left alone standing in the back, immersed in moans of pain. Stepping toward the back exit of the truck, the sound of a hammer being pulled back on a gun caused the prisoner to stop.

"I suggest you sit back down, son." Thunder pounded outside the truck, emphasising the Captain's request. The prisoner began to turn around slowly. "Stop." The captain barked the order quickly.

"No." The gunshots rang out in the small cab and the captain was thrown back into the dashboard, his own shot landing inches from the escapee's head. Again smirking, the man picked up an object from atop one of the seats and clipped it to his belt before he opened up the back door and hopped out. Sandy, staring in shock as her captain held the wound in his shoulder couldn't find any words. She looked behind her into the back and looked at her comrades writhing in pain on the ground.

"Don't go after him." The captain urged his subordinate to stay where she was. "It's not worth it."

Unheedingly and with a look of determination, Sandy opened up her door and got out, assault rifle in hand. She ran to the back of the truck where she could barely make out the form of her prisoner slowly walking away into the dead of the night. Hurriedly, she ran to catch up. Bringing the rifle to bear, she called out to him.

"Hands up."

The man looked back, but did not turn around. "Oh, just go home already."

"I said 'hands..." The gunshot cut her off and her destroyed gun was forced out of her hand by the bullet.

"And I said 'go home.' Or go somewhere. Just get the hell away from me. I have things to do."

Sandy took a step forward and the man turned right around, hair falling about his face, soaked from the rain. "I just want to know something." She asked.

"Alright, I'm a little curious. Go ahead."

"Why didn't you kill them? Or me? I thought you were supposed to be the scum of the earth."

The man began smiling and walked right up to the woman. He looked down at her, his frame standing a full foot and a half higher than hers. "Well maybe I am. And maybe... Just maybe." He leaned down, bringing them face to face. "maybe I just missed." Suddenly, he brought their lips together, turned and walked away. "Oh, and I stole your cure. So if you wanna help them, you'd better not be coming after me."

Sandy watched his back fade into the rain before walking back to the truck shaking her head in disgust and frustration. "What an asshole."

* * *

Yuffie sat near the burned out fire, staring out the window into the raging storm, as lightning flashed and the thunder rocked the tiny inn. Tifa came up beside her, clad only in a white cotton robe and smiling gently.

"Hey Tifa, what's up? Can't sleep?"

"No, not too well. I thought I'd come down and see who else was up. What about you, hun?"

"I've just been sitting up thinking." The young ninja sat in silence for a few moments, before looking up at her close friend, light tears in her eyes. "Do you think there was anything else we could have done?"

Tifa sat on the armrest of the chair Yuffie currently occupied and put her arm over the young woman's shoulders. "No, of course not, Yuff." She spoke reassuringly. "It was the only option available. Reno knew the risks and he did what was right."

"He really saved us all?"

"Yeah, he did." Tifa looked out into the dark night. "But... I don't think he did it to save all of us. I think he couldn't have cared less what happened to me, or Cloud, or just about anybody in AVALANCHE."

"He didn't do it to save me." Yuffie hugged her knees. "You saw how he looked at me, the anger and betrayal in his eyes. Even if it wasn't true, he died thinking it was. He died hating me."

Tifa pulled Yuffie a little closer. "Don't you think that. Don't think that at all. He didn't hate you. He cared about you more than enough to save you. Yuffie, Reno carried you himself for an entire sector. That doesn't sound like he hated you at all."

Yuffie smiled as she looked through the fire. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I have to tell you though, I didn't really expect Reno to bite it saving people." The two laughed a little louder than they should have, because seconds later, Cid's groggy voice bellowed down at them.

"Would you two shut the fuck up? I'm trying to sleep!"

The women quieted down to giggles before Tifa spoke again. "I'm going back up to bed. Are you going to be ok?"

Yuffie rose up from her chair. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm getting pretty tired myself."

* * *

Out in the darkened late night streets of Kalm, relatively close to the little inn, a man stumbled into the side of a building, catching the attention of some local teenagers walking home from a nearby party. The figure pushed along, using the brick wall for support as he stepped through puddles that had quickly formed in the downpour. Curious, the teens walked hesitantly over.

"Hey, buddy?" One of the more outgoing youths called out. "You alright?"

"Just fine. G' way."

"You don't really look fine. This is a pretty old part of town, and I don't think I've seen you around before. What's your name?"

The man looked up. "Reno." He smirked at the group. "Now fuck off." Recognizing the tattered remains of a blue suit, and the shock of red hair that fell about his face, the kids finally put a face to the name. Then they took off running. Reno pushed himself away from the wall and began walking down the street chuckling to himself. "Heh... heh... That really never." He coughed hard twice. "Never gets old..."

Up ahead of Reno loomed the Highwind, anchored until its next departure. Pulling himself slowly up the anchor cable, he lifted his body over the edge and fell onto the deck. Lying there for a few moments to catch his breath, the exhausted Turk finally got to his feet and forced himself over to the door. A few moments later, he had picked the lock and was inside of the dark hull.

"Now, if I were a chocobo... Where would I sleep?" Reno stood at the top of the steps, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness that surrounded him. Looking down to the next level, he spotted a room with words that looked remarkably like 'Chocobo Stable' on the door. Working his way down, he pulled open the door and gasped. "Oh, Lord... that smells terrible." Shutting the door again, Reno rested his head against the steel in front of him. Looking to his left, he noticed the storage room. Hoping for some nice, comfy boxes, he opened up that door, and curled up in one of the far corners. It was only seconds later that the Turk was fast asleep. He just hoped no one would find him before he awoke.


	15. Chapter 14 ScarFree

Chapter 14 – Scar-Free

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Rude looked around the darkened room, Tseng behind him scanning quietly. To the both of them, the Turks private lounge had never looked so unfamiliar and menacing.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Reno's voice sprang up from a dark corner near the back.

Tseng flicked the light switch beside him before speaking. Reno winced at the light. "Fine. We're more concerned about how you're doing."

"Me? Oh, I'm great." Reno beamed. "The President even promised me an assassination mission if I was good this week."

Rude and Tseng exchanged a quick look. Reno had never been one to follow his moral barometer too closely, but he'd certainly never been a sadist before. Tseng turned quickly from the room, telling Rude to stick around and watch Reno. Marching quickly down the hall towards the elevator, Tseng's mind was working feverishly. Taking the elevator to the 69th floor, Tseng strode quickly past the receptionist, despite her startled cries for him to stop. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Tseng found President Shin-ra casually perusing a report of some kind.

"Sir, we need to talk."

President Shin-ra looked up with boredom over his features. "Can't it wait Tseng? I'm a little busy."

"I will not allow myself or Rude to undergo this treatment. And furthermore, Reno Will be taken off it as well, until the methods can be subdued or improved."

The President raised an eyebrow curiously. "You would give me orders, Turk?"

"If you do not comply, you will not have a Turk to be superior to." The two men met the others' eyes with steely gazes for a few long moments. Finally, the President gave out a bark of laughter and pushed the report aside.

"And what do you suggest?"

"Reno cannot operate to his full potential in this state of mind. He's no longer capable of thinking on the run, an asset that first led us to recruit him. Now he'll follow the order directly as prescribed, even until his death."

"Just like a good Turk." The President sneered.

"And a wholly useless one." Tseng retorted before continuing. "Should Hojo be able to produce the same effort at a much more reduced level for Reno alone, I will have no more objections." And with that punctuating his entire speech, Tseng turned about and left the room. Shin-ra called after him.

"Fine. It will take some time. In the meanwhile, you might want to keep an eye on your boy. He's got a taste for blood."

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

In his sleep, Reno moaned softly and shifted, trying in vain to shake the dreams from his mind.

* * *

"Would you fucking hurry up? I hate waiting for supplies to get loaded before me an' my baby tear up the skies."

"Cid…" Cloud looked up at the frustrating pilot. "Barret is Not a supply." He continued helping the wounded man up the ladder with the support of Rude.

"Whatever, dead weight is dead weight." Cid spoke with a bark of laughter.

"Boy, when I can walk," Barret growled. "I am gonna slap the hell outta you."

Cid smiled as he tossed away the remnants of his cigarette and walked over to help his massive friend onto the airship. Below deck, Tifa walked over and shook their prisoner until he awoke in his chair. "Hey there Jonny boy. Have you ever been to Cosmo Canyon?" she asked with a sweet smile on her face.

"Uh… no?" the confused soldier asked, struggling futilely with his bindings for only a moment.

"Well, good. You can think of this as a vacation then. We're leaving you with the Canyon guard on our way." Tifa walked back to the door and winked at Jon. "Have fun." As Tifa exited, she turned out the lights leaving Jon in absolute darkness.

"Hey…"

Tifa laughed softly to herself as she heard his cry of indignation. Looking up, she saw Yuffie stumble in from the deck, still rubbing the sleep out from her eyes. Elena soon followed, a large personalized mug of coffee in hand. Tifa smiled brightly as she waved at the two.

"Good morning, you guys. How's it going?" Tifa expertly blocked the fist thrown at her by a groggy Yuffie, instead looking on as Elena drained the rest of her coffee.

"Well, it had been fine." The blond Turk looked dejectedly at the now-visible porcelain bottom and sighed. Tifa reached out for the empty mug, only to have it violently jerked away protectively. A moment later, Elena relaxed and apologized meekly. Tifa slowly took it from her.

"I've got a fresh pot on, let me go get you some. Milk, Sugar?"

"Black this morning, please." Tifa nodded and left the room. Elena turned to Yuffie. "You know, she wouldn't be As weird if we hadn't all nearly been killed last night. What has her so bouncy?"

"Yuffie looked up at her. "Are you kidding me? She's got most of her friends here, and we're off on an adventure. She's probably been waiting years for this..." Yuffie paused. "Well, that and she's one of those fucking morning people."

"Rude's a morning person."

"What? Really?"

"Yep. Actually, you really can't tell if there's a difference in him in the morning, but he is up way before me or Reno..." She trailed off looking to the side.

"Weird."

"Yeah." At that, Tifa re-entered the room carrying two cups of coffee, handing Elena hers, who drank deeply from it immediately. Ignoring the 'fuck me, that's good' murmured beside her, Yuffie looked over to Tifa.

"So where do we go now?"

"First off, we want to get Barret back to Corel and Marlene. He's in no condition to help, despite what he thinks." Yuffie nodded in agreement. "Then, we go to Wutai." The young girl paled slightly at the mention of her hometown.

"We need some things from there and to..." Elena hesitated. "Take care of something."

Yuffie forced back the stinging at the back of her eyes and looked back to Tifa.

"Plus, you might want to let Godo know what you're up to." This time, Yuffie just bit her lower lip before Tifa continued. "After that, we stop at Cosmo Canyon for the night. All in all, it shou- oh, wow."

Elena stood with her head down, holding out her massive mug to Tifa. In a small voice she asked, "Can I have more please?"

* * *

Cloud silently thanked the Gods that the act of bringing Barret down a ladder was much easier than carrying him up it. Relatively easily reaching the ground, Tifa had a wheelchair and a little girl waiting for them.

"Daddy, are you alright?" Marlene cried out as she leapt into her adoptive father's arm while he settled into the wheelchair.

"Yeah, pumpkin, I'm fine. Jus' gotta take it easy for the next week or so is all." Barret gave Marlene an extra little squeeze before setting her down. Looking at Cloud and Tifa, he asked "Are you sure you're gonna be fine without me?"

Cloud laughed and replied with "The better question is, are you going to be fine without us?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be good. You guys just get going already."

"Ok." Tifa bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You take care of yourself, alright?" Both Cloud and Tifa gave Marlene a quick hug goodbye and boarded the Highwind.

The jolt of the landing was finally enough to wake Reno from his deep slumber. Standing up and stretching, he wondered just where the hell he was. Opening up the door he had originally come in, Reno stepped out onto the ladder and took in Da-Chou mountains. After a brief sigh of relief for being in a familiar location, he quickly scrambled down the ladder as the first few drops of rain splattered about him.

"So this is where you guys work now, huh?" Cid asked.

Vincent walked into the building and looked around. "It is no Shin-ra Tower, but I suppose it does the job."

Rude nodded at the ex-Turk's supposition. Soon after, Elena and the rest of Avalanche came in. Yuffie went straight for the kitchen.

"So, what do you guys need to get here?"

"There are a couple weapons, equipment and supplies that might prove useful in this kind of situation." Elena answered. She and Rude worked quickly to pack all they needed. Giving some of the load to AVALANCHE, Yuffie watched as Rude loaded a small personal backpack and flung it over his shoulder, nodding to Elena. "Alright," she said. "Let's go."

Having loaded their supplies into the Highwind, the Turks led AVALANCHE through Wutai in the pouring rain. Reaching the base of Da-Chou mountains, Yuffie sped up to walk beside Elena.

"Hey, where are we going?" Yuffie asked, clearly confused.

"You'll see." The cryptic answer revealed nothing as Elena and Rude climbed the ancient paths expertly. Entering the now quenched fire caves, Rude reached into his backpack and pulled out a flare and continued along.

"Finally." Cid let out a sigh of relief for being under some real cover from the rain and reached for a cigarette.

"Stop that." Yuffie's voice froze his hand.

"What?"

"This is sacred ground, and we don't need you leaving behind your smoke and ash."

"Bah, everything is sacred to you guys." But despite his implied criticism, Cid quickly returned the cigarette to his pack.

Rude moved past as sharp corner in the cave and stepped back out into the rain. The group found themselves looking out over the whole of Wutai from the very top of Da-Chou mountain.

"Oh, wow..." Tifa's voice trailed off as she looked down upon the city. Stepping to the edge, she took in the beauty of the scene. She couldn't help but appreciate the thick, lush grass at her feet, even as the rain fell about. Walking to the other edge of the plateau, the woman looked out over the ocean, staring down the nearly-vertical drop off the back of the mountain into the water below. "This is incredible."

"Yeah," Yuffie spoke with pride in the beauty her country still possessed. "They found access up here after we put out the flames when we came through here last. Though usually only tourist groups and the occasional climber are led up here to take their little pictures home to show the neighbors." The malice in her voice was unmistakable. "So why are we up here?" She looked over to Rude and Elena, only to find them walking a fair distance away. Curious, AVALANCHE followed them nearly to the very western edge. "What's that?" Yuffie asked, spotting a stone marker set in the ground. Before she could get her answer, she was distracted by the sound of a tour guide emerging from the cave.

"And here we find one of the most recently discovered and beautiful sights of Wu... Oh!" The guide exclaimed sharply as she noticed the group, noting Yuffie in particular. "Lady Kisaragi, I apologize for the intrusion." She turned back to the group, few of the tourists recognizing the Lady of Wutai. "We'll return in a while, don't worry. We just need to give these people some time." Slowly, and a little confused, the group filed back into the cave to see the rest of the tour first, except for one man in a dark hood covering his features as the rain splattered on it. Paying the stranger no attention past a second glance, AVALANCHE looked back to the Turks.

"Tseng?" Yuffie read the simple engraving on the stone marker, again confused. "You have Tseng buried here?"

Elena shook her head. "No, not buried..." Rude kneeled down and pulled a similar marker out of his bag. "Turks don't seem to leave us bodies to bury. Still, this was Tseng's favorite spot. He had shown it to all of us before the Temple of the Ancients mission. I think he knew..." Elena either wiped away a tear or an annoying raindrop from her eye. Either way Cloud couldn't tell, but he began to understand.

"Elena, Rude, Yuffie..." He addressed them all individually. "Take all the time you want. We won't go anywhere until you're done here."

Rude nodded his thanks, and finished securing the second marker into the ground, neatly beside the first. After standing, Elena gave him a quick hug and cleared her voice. "To Reno I was always a rookie, and he never really let me forget that." She smiled softly. "But ever since the fall of Midgar, it stopped being so insulting. It was more... affectionate. Even when it was included with an insult. While Reno was never anything resembling a good person, he was a good friend. Perhaps his final actions speak more about his character than his life of crime and evil ever could. To ask Reno why he did what he did would get you nothing but a cold laugh and a colder answer. But I think his life revolved around necessity. To survive in the slums, sacrifices must be made. I don't intend to defend his actions, only to attempt a justification and to appeal to whatever God that would listen that he, Tseng and his sister are reunited in a better place... Scar-free..." Elena finished, tears streaming freely as they mixed with the falling rain. Yuffie dropped down to her knees and put her hand over Reno's name engraved in the stone, her fingers running lightly in the grooves.

"I never really knew how Reno felt about me. Between the insults, the innuendoes, the dismissals and the inviting winks, it was impossible for me to know what he was thinking. But I'm ok with that, it had made things interesting. What I can't stand is that he died believing I had betrayed him, and I never had the chance to correct that, to say sorry. More importantly, I never even had a chance to tell him how much I liked having him around." The sobs broke out of the young girl's body. "How much I actually cared."

Cloud stepped up to Yuffie and knelt down to hug her. She turned around and buried her face into his shoulder. Rude adjusted his sunglasses. "Reno and I met in the Shin-ra building. We'd been best friends ever since then. I don't think he ever realized just how funny I thought he was. I had a hell of a time never laughing."

And with that, Rude fixed up his wet tie and began walking. Without a word, he and Elena passed through the ranks of AVALANCHE, who quickly joined them. Walking at the very back of the group, Red began to sniff the air furiously, and with a gasp of surprise, snapped his head around towards the mysterious figure they had all ignored. Calmly, the cloaked man reached his hand up and placed a single finger over his lips. Red, confused but trusting, nodded once and padded off to rejoin his friends.

"What was that about?" Vincent asked.

"Just a familiar scent. Likely someone who had recently visited the Canyon. It was nothing."

Vincent looked skeptical for but a moment while Red reached him. Turning to walk beside his friend, they began their descent down Da-Chou mountain.

* * *

A.N. I wanted to apoligize to anybody who was actually following this. I'll try to update on a more regular basis... Maybe 


	16. Chapter 15 The Man of the Hour

Chapter 15 – The Man of the Hour

The cloaked figure atop the mountain strode towards the two stone markers and looked down while laughing to himself. Pulling away the hood, Reno let the water seep into his hair as his bangs fell about his face. "Y'know Tseng," He spoke to the marker on the left. "I remember your funeral was a lot nicer than mine. More rain for sure." He jammed his hands in his pockets and started to walk away. "Don't worry though buddy. It was a close call this time, and I'm running outta luck. I think we'll run into each other again up here soon enough. But I've got to go for now. Can't miss my ride."

* * *

Moving up the stairs of the Pagoda, Yuffie looked more than a little hesitant about the questioning she was bound to receive. Only a few reassuring pushes in the back from Cloud and Tifa ensure her complete ascent. Reaching the top with her companions in tow, Yuffie slowly pushed in the doors that stood in front of her.

"Uhh, hey Godo."

"Yuffie, where have you been?" The girl cringed at the harsh tone and Godo regretted it instantly. "I'm sorry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Yuffie relaxed a little. "Godo, listen. I'm going to need to go away again for a while. There's something I need to... take care of."

Godo's disapproving gaze lingered on his daughter before shifting. "Cloud."

"Yes, Lord Godo." Cloud stepped forward and bowed politely.

"You will take care of my little girl, won't you?" Yuffie frowned at the designation.

"Just as she'll take care of us."

Godo smiled softly at the answer where Yuffie beamed. "Very well." Godo stood up and approached Yuffie. Then he wrapped his arms around her.

"Godo, what the hell?" Yuffie blushed, and looked around for help.

"Please, be careful." He whispered to his daughter.

Hesitantly, she returned the hug. "Yeah Dad... I will."

* * *

Spotting AVALANCE and his partners leaving the Pagoda, Reno briefly considered surprising them right there. 'No.' He thought. 'As long as they think I'm dead, so does that Kassidy guy and his men.' So instead of hopping down, Reno hurried up the ladder even faster, moving quickly to his little corner in the storage room to wait. 'I hope the dog doesn't blow it.'

Minutes later, AVALANCHE entered the Highwind and prepared to depart. Sniffing as subtly as possible, Red stood outside a particular storage room and looked helplessly up at the keypad.

"Now what are you doing?" Yuffie walked over beside Red and scratched behind his ear. Red purred lightly for a moment before shaking her hand off.

"I was considering the best course of action for opening this contraption."

"Oh, well here you go." Deftly, Yuffie opened the door for her thumb-less friend. As the door slid open, Reno pushed himself harder into his corner and attempted to disappear into the shadows. "Whatcha need in here anyway?" Yuffie looked around the dark room.

"I'm looking for a particular text on the principals behind a certain theory of cellular -." Yuffie cut him off.

"Nevermind, I don't want to know." Moving quickly, Yuffie was soon out of sight. Reno relaxed a little as Red made his way over. Sitting down, the beast regarded him curiously for a moment.

"Now just how did you survive? Or get in here for that matter."

"Oh no, I'm not telling That story more than once. You can hear it when everybody else does."

"Very well. And why do you hide your presence. It would relieve Elena, Rude and Yuffie greatly.

"Yeah, I know." Reno looked off into the distance for a second. "But I won't give up the element of surprise so easily." Red nodded in understanding, and Reno let out a quiet laugh. "Sides, how often do you get the chance to attend your own funeral."

* * *

Having left Jon with the Canyon guard, Cloud, Vincent, Cid and Rude walked through the streets of Cosmo Canyon, towards the eternal flame.

"So how do you think this little mission to Gongaga is gonna go?" Cid asked, spear on his shoulder and cigarette in mouth.

Cloud shrugged. "Not too sure. What do you two think?"

This time it was Rude's turn to shrug while Vincent answered. "With proper preparations I don't see there being a problem. But then again, we have no idea what we're really getting into, and these lunatics have Hojo's notes."

"So really, anything can happen?" Cid asked.

"Basically."

Cid ground the cigarette out as he walked. "God damn."

Cloud nodded. "Well whatever happens, we need to get a little sleep tonight. Everybody rest up, and we'll consider things in the morning. Who knows? Maybe Alexander will co-operate.

* * *

In her lab, Dr. Howari stared intently at the bubbling liquid with the giant tube, the chiseled frame of the body inside floating gently. With the push of a button, the mako solution bubbled more fiercely than ever. "Come on, come on." She breathed out loud. Inside the tube, muscles tensed, and eyes shot open wide. "My Lord..." Howari released the breath she hadn't realized she held. "His eyes are still so beautiful."

The doctor flipped a few switches to drain the tank and open it. Hitting the nearby radio as the body gently slumped to the ground, Howari relayed a message. "Davis, you have to get over here." She couldn't contain her excitement. "He... He's awake."

"What? Already?" The static of the radio could not hide his surprise.

"Yes. And..." She looked back at the awakening form. "I think it worked."

* * *

Alexander was woken in the dead of night by his personal phone going off in his ear. Swearing lightly, he collected himself quickly and cleared his throat before answering.

"Yes?"

"Sorry to wake you, sir."

"It's fine Davis, I was awake anyway. Still, what is it?"

"The subject has awoken." The voice on the other end offered.

"Wonderful." A bright smile crept onto Alexander's face. "I'm on my way down. How's he look?"

"Better than we could ever hope." Davis hung up the phone at his end and looked over to his friend, Dr. Howari sitting patiently with the aforementioned subject, holding his hand gently.

"Do you remember who you are?" She asked softly.

"Yes." The answer was cold and calculating. Davis found it particularly unfeeling.

"Do you remember where you are from?"

"No." Again, the same effect.

Howari took in a deep breath and prepared herself. "And... do you remember me?"

The figure in the chair stared hard at her, his long hair carelessly obscuring his vision. "No."

Dr. Howari bit her lip slightly and nodded slowly. Standing up, she walked over to Davis.

"So how much does he remember?" He asked quietly.

"About exactly what was expected. He can tell you anything was engrained into his mind as instinct, like his identity and baser skills, even if he doesn't realize it yet. With a little prodding, any of his former memories can be restored."

"Even the ones we don't want."

"Yes, precaution as to the stimulus around him would be advisable."

Upon completing her suggestion, Howari looked over Davis' shoulder and watched Corin Alexander enter the room, striding over to them confidently. "Well, well." He clapped his hands together excitedly. "Look at this, not a problem in sight." Corin reached out to touch the man's face. In an instant, the hand was intercepted, and Alexander found himself turned around, facing Howari and Davis with his assailant's arm pushing against his throat.

"Stop and sit down." Howari's orders came in a loud, sharp and commanding tone. With a rage flashing in his eyes, and seemingly fighting the movements mentally, the subject released Alexander and sat back down.

Alexander, for his part, looked even more excited. "And the mental dampening is working like a charm. All right, let's get him in the gym. There's a small squad waiting already."

Stepping into A.E.C's personal gym, Howari, Davis and Alexander led their special "guest" in quietly. Those of the squadron already at the training mats who recognized him were immediately wary.

"Alright," Alexander spoke directly to the squad leader. "Try to take him down."

"Me, sir?"

"No, not just you." He addressed the whole group now. "All of you."

The group of soldiers looked surprised, and certainly a little hesitant as their assigned target settled into an easy fighting stance. The leader stepped forward confidently. "No problem sir." He held up his hand. "Let's go guys. And try not to go too hard on him."

With that order, the group of eleven attacked brutally. Three were down within the first two seconds. The subject's fighting style was amazing, both fluid and strong. Perfected. He weaved through the group of men easily, striking when the opportunity presented itself, the blow that followed easily removing its target from the fight. Even when an attack slipped through his defenses due to the group's sheer numbers, the target paid it no mind, often the contact barely seeming to register. Quicker than Alexander could have ever hoped, the fight was over.

As Alexander congratulated Dr. Howari, Davis, and his new charge, Kassidy stood in the far entrance to the gym. "Hmph." He scoffed. "He's not that good..." Shaking his head, Kassidy was gone.

* * *

"Alright, here's the best I could come up with." Cloud and his companions sat around the eternal flame, with the rising sun shadowing the entire Canyon. All preparations had been completed, and all that remained was the initial planning as Cloud proceeded to explain. "We're going to go with the two teams in Gongaga. The first will consist of myself, Tifa, Cid, Red and Yuffie. We're going in the front door to try and talk to Alexander himself, and get some straight answers if we can. It will be hard to ignore us with three major city leaders. Obviously, that isn't going to get us shit-all." Cid chuckled. "Which means Vincent, Rude, and Elena, you guys are on your own to sneak in and get some real information for us."

"Don't you think they'll be a little curious as to why we aren't with you?" Elena asked.

"Yes, but Vincent isn't too against disappearing off on his own occasionally, and it's plausible that we wouldn't be working with the Turks." Cloud answered. "It's the best group with the least suspicion."

"They'll still be looking for us." Vincent added.

"Yeah, but I'm going to be carrying a big fucking sword with me, so they'll probably want to keep an eye on that. It's the best we can do... You'll find a way in?" Rude nodded. "Good, let's go."

* * *

"Sir, we've had some reports of AVALANCHE's Highwind departing from Cosmo Canyon. It looks like they're headed our way." Kassidy reported.

"I wonder what they could possibly want." Alexander's sarcasm was pointedly blatant. "Try to stay out of sight until the opportune moment, would you?"

* * *

"Good luck you guys." Cloud shouted over the roar of the wind on the deck of the Highwind. "We'll be going in at 11 o' clock. The best time for you to infiltrate is going to be anytime soon after that."

Vincent, Rude and Elena stood at the edge of the deck and looked out towards the upcoming city of Gongaga. Approaching the city limits and the edge of the surrounding forest quickly, Rude gave a thumbs up and vaulted himself over the railing, followed immediately by Vincent and Elena. Cloud went back inside to the rest of AVALANCHE.

"They're off."

"Good, we'll be touching down soon." Cid spoke around his cigarette.

* * *

"AVALANCHE is approaching the building sir." Davis walked beside his boss. "They are missing Barret Wallace, Vincent Valentine, and both Turks."

"Alright, let's go and meet them." Alexander entered the elevator. "No sign of the missing?"

"It's very likely they left Wallace in Corel after the injuries he sustained."

"Hmm, interesting... Look into that would you. And the rest?"

"Well, they did not exit the airship, and none of the Highwind crew fit their descriptions as they exited. We'll increase security nonetheless."

"You do that." The elevator doors opened to reveal A.E.C's lobby. "Mr. Strife, Ms. Lockheart, Lady Kisaragi, Mr. Highwind and Mr. Nanaki. To what honor do I owe the appearances of the Planet's saviors?" Alexander addressed them all with a charming smile.

"We'd actually like to take a look around, if you don't mind." Cloud requested strongly.

"Always on the lookout for a new Shin-ra huh? Well, of course, come in. We have nothing to hide here."

"Good, thank you."

* * *

"You know, I really hate mid-day espionage. Makes things so complicated." Elena received no answers as her group approached the A.E.C. building down a side alley. "I mean, I guess we'll just go through a window or something, but still..." Again, no answer. "Not talking to myself here."

"That's enough." Vincent spoke, bringing them to a stop in clear sight of their destination. "I don't see much of an outdoor patrol."

"No, to have a lot of guards outside of a legitimate power company would only prove to add suspicion." Rude supplied an explanation. "I doubt the interior will be so lax."

Five stories above them, Reno leaned low over the edge of the roof, watching over his friends. Discarding the spare mechanic's overalls Red had brought him to slip off of the Highwind, Reno dusted off his suit leg. 'Good thing I swung by home in Wutai.' He thought, looking at his companions conversing with Vincent. Reno smirked. "So this is where you three got off to. Alright Valentine, let's see how those Turk skills have held up. I'm following you three the whole way." He smiled to himself. "Anything you can do, I can do better." When Vincent led them across the street and up through a window, Reno wasn't far behind. "I can do anything better than you."

* * *

"So why is it you have all these guards running around in here anyway?" Cid asked of Alexander. "Something' got you scared shitless?"

"No, not at all," The president answered. "But Gongaga's police force operates out of this building."

"That's a lot of police."

"Sometimes the world needs a lot of policing." Alexander smiled. "Is there anything in particular you would like to see next?"

"Research laboratories." Cloud crossed his arms smugly.

"Of course, right this way please."

* * *

Four floors below them, Vincent and the Turks had made their way into Dr. Howari's lab, Rude carrying two unfortunate guards that had been unavoidable.

"Elena." Rude ordered. "Find out what you can from the computer."

"You got it." The two Turks moved to the computer in tandem, leaving Vincent to physically search the lab. "Yeah, it's all here, everything we had and..." She scrolled down. "A little more... oh shit."

"What?"

"They're already done."

"That's right." The Turks looked up at Dr. Howari standing in the doorway. "You're too late. I'm sorry."

"Kaylynn?" Rude actually looked and sounded surprised. Surprised enough that he didn't notice the dark blur behind him until it was too late. Rude's world went black as he collapsed. A sickening thud followed immediately after and Elena was unconscious atop him.

"And here we are." Alexander led them into the lab. However, the moment they entered, Red started growling. Then the rest of the group saw the felled bodies of Rude and Elena and drew their weapons.

"What the fuck?" Cid exclaimed.

Alexander laughed. "Well this is what you were looking for, isn't it?" Suddenly, a crash and a spray of glass covered the room as Vincent's limp body was propelled through the window of the examination room door, rolling to a stop near Cid's feet. "And there's the man of the hour now."

Cloud looked visibly shaken. "Oh God..." His voice was hoarse. The raven black hair swept neatly over the immaculate blue suit as the assailant walked into the room calmly, picking up Vincent's gun as he walked by. "Tseng?"

"Yes, the ever skilled, new and improved leader of the Turks." Corin's voice was far away. He had retreated back to the elevator, Kassidy now standing between them, waving with his knife. "Have fun."


	17. Chapter 16 It's Lights Out Now

Chapter 16 – It's Lights Out Now

AVALANCHE quickly spread out as their two attackers launched a vicious assault. In as high-paced a battle as this, materia became virtually useless as the heroes found themselves relying on their physical strength alone. Cloud dealt with Kassidy himself, the Ex-SOLDIER's berserker style keeping him head-to-head with the incredible speed and strength of the Captain. Red, Yuffie, Tifa and Cid instead concentrated on the newest threat to their lives as Tseng struck incredibly fast.

As Cloud's sword tore through the air, Kassidy was on his heels, incredibly avoiding each deadly arc of the blade. Lunging with his knife, Kassidy only caught the cloth of Cloud's uniform as the leader of AVALANCHE was saved by a desperate twist to the side. Swinging again, Kassidy's knife was intercepted and discarded by the blunt edge of the buster sword as Cloud kicked out his opponent's leg. The sudden shift in balance was enough for Kassidy to falter, but not fall as he managed to dive backwards, the sharp bite of Cloud's sword tearing lightly into his chest. Looking down at the minor damage, Kassidy smiled. "Alright, let's turn this up a notch."

Tseng's first target was Tifa as he opened with a devastating roundhouse that surprised the woman, her late block barely absorbing the damage. Only the intrusion of Cid's jabbing spear disallowed Tseng to follow the attack up, forcing him to deal with the pilot instead. Deflecting the spear to the side, and ducking to avoid Yuffie's assault, Tseng faced a feral Red tearing right for him. Twisting deftly to the side, Red soared past Tseng harmlessly. Suddenly, with incredibly speed, Tseng was again even with Red in the air, his fist connecting solidly with the fire beast's ribs and vaulted him across the room. Intercepting Tifa's fist, Tseng flipped over his head and attempted to bury her in the ground. Turning her body and rolling with the impact allowed Tifa to quickly regain her feet as she attacked, coupled with both Cid and Yuffie, Red still slow to get up. Instead of backing up defensively, Tseng rushed the trio, a flurry of punches and kicks fending off the group. Yuffie and Tifa's training allowed them to remain relatively unharmed, while Cid's luck and desperate dives kept him out of harm's way.

If Cloud had thought Kassidy was fast before, he simply couldn't believe it now. Previously, Cloud had no problems dealing with the soldier in a one on one situation, even forcing him to remain on the defensive. Now, Kassidy upped his speed, flashing through Cloud's attacks and landing sound blows. Reeling back from a kick to his chest, Cloud readied himself and concentrated. In a furious rage, Strife's sword wove an incredible pattern through the air, taxing his strength and speed to the utmost. The reckless abandon proved enough to counter even Kassidy's attacks, as A.E.C's military leader found himself again on the defensive. Putting some distance between him and Cloud, Kassidy laughed. "Would you look at this." He gestured to Cloud, still dancing away from the savage attack. "And they say you took down Sephiroth. You can barely handle me. Another couple minutes and you'll be too tired to even lift that thing. The stories are a lie. You're not Half the man the general was." With a growl of anger, Cloud pushed himself to the limit.

Tifa hit the ground hard as her legs were swept out from under her, Tseng proceeding to pummel Cid with well-aimed punches. The pilot hit the ground in a heap, but managed to roll away from the heel kick that was intended to crush his skull. Yuffie too had no chance in her attack, as Tseng moved within the range of her swipe, a blunt palm striking her in the solar plexus. Head reeling, Yuffie dropped to a knee and coughed while Tifa tried to get between Tseng and her young friend. Tifa's foot slipped by Tseng's guard and connected with his ribs, forcing a gust of breath from the ex-Turk's lungs, as he doubled over momentarily. Bringing her elbow down to impact the base of his skull, Tifa was suddenly lifted into the air. In a movement she hadn't even been able to follow, Tseng had gotten behind her and picked her up over his head. Tossing her over a desk, Tifa crashed into a groggy Cid, bringing them both to the ground. Tseng spun quickly, reaching into his jacket and drawing the gun he had taken from Vincent's unconscious body earlier, levelling it at Yuffie as she struggled to rise. With no expression, Tseng cocked the gun and Yuffie's head shot up, their eyes meeting. Where his eyes were a cold brown, her's held a defiant fear.

The kick landed solidly in Tseng's temple, throwing him to the side as the gun went off, the bullet harmlessly destroying a computer. Shaking his head, Tseng was blasted with a blue energy, both stunning him and pitching him into a nearby specimen containment cell. Reno rushed over before Tseng's muscles could stop contracting from the electricity and sealed the chamber.

"Reno?" Yuffie's surprised yell overtook the room. "How-"

Reno cut her off, all business. "Not now. Strife, get them the fuck out of here, I'll deal with Kassidy."

Kassidy and Cloud both stopped to digest this new development. With a nod, Cloud sheathed his sword and lifted Rude onto his shoulders. "AVALANCHE, time to go. Cid, grab Vincent, Tifa, get Elena."

"So you think you can stop me boy?" Kassidy smugly approached Reno. "You don't stand a chance in hell."

Watching Cloud and the others rush up the emergency exit stairwell, Yuffie and Red leading the way, Reno merely smirked. "Hey, I don't need to stop you. I just need to slow you down."

* * *

Reaching the 1st floor lobby, Yuffie and Red were met with a hail of gunfire. Finding cover quickly, they signalled for Cloud and the rest to stay back. Yuffie reached into her pouch and pulled out a small object.

"I suggest you give up." AVALANCHE could hear Davis' voice from behind some embankment. "There's really no way for you to get past the fifty plus guards we have up here. You have 30 seconds to surrender."

Vincent and Rude regained consciousness at nearly the same time, Elena being woken up by her partner quickly after.

Cloud spoke quickly. "Alright, we've got a bit of a situation here. Are you all able to fight?"

He received three quick nods in the affirmative. Looking over to Yuffie, he noticed a red glint now shining in her weapon. Giving her a quick wink of understanding, Cloud drew his sword, as the rest gathered their weapons.

* * *

Kassidy moved fast, circling Reno and not providing a stationary target. "You Turks are jokes. Always lurking in the shadows, never fighting like men. Nothing like a real solider."

"Oh yeah?" Reno smirked. "Then why is your secret weapon my boy Tseng here?" He nodded towards the complacent Tseng standing helplessly in the containment cell, waiting to be let out.

"Not my decision. If it were up to me, it would have been Sephiroth... Then you and your useless friends would already have been slaughtered. The man was a God."

"And why not him?" Reno took a shot at Kassidy's head, the soldier moving swiftly to dodge the bullet.

"That bitch Howari fed us some crap about Sephiroth being too hard to control. 'Look at what happened to Shin-ra' she said. And that lovesick tool Alexander actually bought it. It was her idea to bring back Tseng, not ours."

"Wait..." Reno was surprised. "Kaylynn Howari?"

"Yep. Tseng's wife." And Kassidy attacked.

* * *

"You are running out of time AVALANCHE. Please surrender without any bloodshed." Davis implored.

Receiving the go-ahead from Cloud, Yuffie began concentrating, the tiny red materia glowing strongly in her weapon. Then with a giant roar, the great water beast Leviathan materialized in front of A.E.C's frightened soldiers. As the tidal wave rolled over them, knocking their bodies and weapons about, AVALANCHE and the Turks emerged from their cover and rushed the soldiers, spreading out and fighting wildly.

The moment Leviathan had appeared, Davis took off running, knowing full well of the power Summon materia possessed. Reaching the elevator, Davis heard the screams of his men behind them as the magical water slammed into them. Hitting the button for the top floor, he shook his head. "Alexander is going to be pissed."

* * *

Reno was doing what he could to fend off Kassidy's attack, the fight quickly becoming close quarters and making his handgun useless. Reno's fist shot out in a quick jab, knocking Kassidy's head back as Reno's nightstick came across and hit him square in the neck. Kassidy hit the ground and rolled away, but when he got back to his feet, he only saw Reno's back as he raced up the stairs, taking two or three at a time. Shaking his head with a smile, Kassidy spoke to himself. "What a pussy..." Then, like a shot, he was off.

Reno barrelled up the stairs, past surprised guards who didn't have the time to even bring their guns to bear before he was past them. No sooner had they begun to give chase however, that Kassidy was throwing them out of his way, in his own deadly pursuit. Reno, with Kassidy at his heels, reached the ground floor and crashed through a window, into a nearby and empty parking lot outside. Rolling through the half inch of water that had already collected on the pavement, Reno was soaked in a torrential downpour by the time he got to his feet. Kassidy, just as wet, wasn't far behind him. The storm fell around them, lightning and thunder crashing through the air above.

"Fuck, does it have to be raining everywhere I go now?" Reno spoke to himself. "Alright Kassidy." This time he addressed the man facing him. "Let's settle this... No guns, knives or any weapons. Just a little one on one."

"Hah. You just want out cause your precious nightstick would kill you if you used it in this water..." Kassidy knew exactly what Reno was playing at. "But, very well. It will be more fun to tear you apart myself anyway."

* * *

Ducking back behind some appropriate cover, Cid pulled a small radio out of his bomber jacket. "Hey, get the Highwind the fuck outta Gongaga... we've got trouble."

The voice came back lightly broken through the static. "Already gone Captain. We left as soon as the storm picked up."

Cid looked at the device in disbelief. "You did that yourself? Maybe y'all aren't God damn useless after all. Alright, we'll call for a pick up when we can." Releasing the button and tossing the radio into his jacket, Cid readied his spear. "Let's go, boys and girls. Time to head 'er."

Cloud pushed forward, swinging madly with his sword and quickly dispatching anyone foolish enough to stand before him. At Cid's call however, he and the rest of his companions dropped back to the pilot. Covered by the rest, Yuffie cast her spell. As the green, burning power of Ultima tore ahead of them, it tossed their enemies about mercilessly before blowing out the entire front wall of the A.E.C. building. Wasting no time, AVALANCHE and the Turks followed in the path of destruction, Cloud barking out directions. "We need two vehicles. Cid, Tifa, Vincent come with me. Red, Yuffie, Rude, Elena in the other.

"What about Reno?" Yuffie asked, her voice tainted with worry.

"Reno? What?" A confused Elena let out.

"You four get him, we'll buy what time we can."

"What's this about Reno?" Elena yelled again.

* * *

Reno jabbed quickly at Kassidy's head only to meet air. Blocking the elbow aimed for his temple, Reno grabbed the attached arm and used it to pull Kassidy forward, planting a knee in his chest. Shrugging off the blow, Kassidy rammed his fist into Reno's stomach, doubling the Turk over. A solid kick cracked against Reno's skull as he was forced into the shallow pool that surrounded them. Pushing himself up, Reno wiped wet hair out of his eyes as he stared at a smiling Kassidy.

"You're doing quite good you know."

Reno breathed deep. "Bite me."

Kassidy shot forward quickly and Reno was barely able to deflect the attack. 'He's getting confident.' Reno thought as he warded off another fist. 'Making him sloppy.' Ducking a wide roundhouse kick, Reno punched viciously into Kassidy's throat and kicked out his knee, taking the larger man down to a kneel. Bringing his heel across Kassidy's face, Reno took him down even harder. As Kassidy lay on his back in the rain and water, Reno drove his knee down into his stomach hard before laying into the pinned man with heavy blows repeatedly. Wailing away on him, a large gash opened above Kassidy's eye before he tossed Reno easily off. As they both scrambled to their feet, Reno was laughing. "Yeah." He coughed. "What the fuck now?"

Kassidy did not look impressed as he wiped the blood away from his eyes. "No more games. It's lights out now." Kassidy cranked up his effort and speed. Easily moving faster than Reno could defend, Kassidy's fist drove into Reno's side with a sickening crack. "Hear that boy? Broken rives floating up into your lungs." Another blur of motion and Reno felt a devastating blow to his chest. "There's your sternum. Pop." Reno began to topple backwards when he was caught and held up by Kassidy. With mako burning in his eyes, Kassidy let loose with a flurry of speed punches that rocked Reno's skull. "Hear those little booms? No, those aren't just the sound of concussions reeling your brain. That's the sound of my fists breaking the speed barrier." This time Kassidy allowed Reno to fall flat on his back, looking up into the dark sky dazed. Kassidy grabbed him by the hair and pulled him to his knees. "See boy." Kassidy drew his fist back. "You never stood a chance. "

"Maybe." Reno coughed up blood. "Maybe not." He reached for his nightstick with a smirk playing mischievously across his face.

"You crazy bastard." Kassidy laughed. "You'd try to kill us both just to stop me? It's not in you."

"Well..." Reno charged the nightstick up. "Gotta take one for the team sometimes." Driving the end of it into Kassidy's body, their worlds erupted in white.

* * *

Smashing the windows almost simultaneously of twin jeeps, Cid and Rude slid through and unlocked the doors before quickly hotwiring the cars. Cloud tossed Elena a radio. "Find Reno, we'll contact you for updates. For now, just head towards the Canyon." Without waiting for an answer, Cloud jumped in the jeep and they were gone, headed towards their pursuers to draw attention.

"Go, go, go." Yuffie frantically yelled.

* * *

Kassidy came to quickly enough, his body still smoking and aching horribly. Trying to shake his head clear as his muscles involuntarily contracted again, he got up to his feet shakily and looked over at the mass of blue suit on the ground ahead of him.

"Fuck." Kassidy swore as he stumbled. "If I can barely stand, what the hell did that do to you?" He asked while walking up to the body, not expecting an answer. Nor did he expect his feet to be swept out, as he hit the pavement hard, too exhausted to get up. In front of him, Reno stood up holding his ribs lightly. "How the hell?" Kassidy was in disbelief.

Reno smirked and showed Kassidy his left hand as he toyed with the Bolt Ring on it. "You don't think I'd ever let myself get tagged by my own weapon do you? You fucking tool."

"No!" Kassidy yelled. "I can't be beaten by you." He writhed in the water, trying to get up. "Not by a mere Turk!"

Reno stepped on his chest and forced him back down while he drew his gun with a smirk. "Sorry buddy... 'It's lights out now.'" Three gunshots resounded throughout the parking lot, as Kassidy finally stopped writhing.

* * *

Rude drove recklessly, all eyes in the jeep looking around the darkened area for a blue suit or a shock of red hair. Cutting a tight corner near where they had recently escaped from, Rude slammed on the brakes. "There!" He pointed and peeled off as well as he could towards the parking lot where Reno kneeled down, looking up at the sky. Pulling up beside him, Yuffie and Elena hopped out and desperately dragged Reno in before Rude sped away.

"Hey guys..." Reno said feebly with a smirk before coughing up more blood onto his soaked suit. "What's up?"

"Gawd Reno," Yuffie looked at him, tears in her and Elena's eyes. "You look all messed up."

"That's it? Good, cause I feel like I'm all fucked up... Awesome." And with that, Reno passed out.


	18. Chapter 17 So Who's Alive Now

Chapter 17 – Alright... So Who's Alive Now?

"Ow... ow... ow... stop it." Reno complained as the jeep bounced at the slightest deviation in the road and Rude sped away from the A.E.C. building. "I think you should probably pull over. You're clearly drunk."

"And you're clearly concussed." Elena said, looking into her companion's eyes. With the excitement of the escape dying down, Elena had a moment to think. "Why the fuck didn't you tell us you were alive, you prick?" she reprimanded the injured Turk.

"Dunno... more fun this way." Reno slurred. "Can- Can I have a cure or two now, that'd be jus' great."

Yuffie reached for the cure materia she had with her. "Rude, have you talked to Cid yet? Where's the Highwind?"

Rude handed the radio to her. "Here."

"Cid? Cloud? Can you hear me? We've got him." Yuffie spoke into the reciever.

* * *

"Cid? Cloud? Can you hear me? We've got him." Yuffie's small voice crackled out of the radio as Cloud reached for it from his position in the passenger seat.

"Good. How is he?"

"Pretty roughed up, but then again... He's supposed to be dead, so comparatively he's doing pretty great."

"Good point. The Highwind crew moved the ship to the outskirts of the town. Where are you now?"

"We're heading north down third street. What does that mean for us?" Yuffie inquired.

"Means you're in great shape. We're just heading north down fourth now, about five minutes from the High-" Cloud was cut off by the bark of gunfire emerging from a jeep behind him. "Dammit, we've got a group following us."

"Yeah, us too." In the background of Yuffie's message, he could hear similar shots ringing out. "They seem kinda pissed off. You'd think we blew a hole in their wall or something."

Cloud couldn't help but laugh. "See if you can't lose them before you reach the outskirts of town. We're gonna be aiming for a pretty quick take off time here."

"You got it. Later."

* * *

Elena reached out of the back of the window, firing away with her pistol at the pursuing vehicles. "Shit, they're reinforced all around. I need something bigger than this." Yuffie looked back at her blond friend and checked the Conformer, pulling out her Ultima materia, holding it up helpfully. "Too big." Yuffie pouted and pulled out a Bolt instead. "Perfect. Light them up."

Yuffie focused on their pursuers intently, but was distracted by Reno who had shifted during the chase. "Hey, somethin's diggin' to my back. L'il help?"

The younger girl looked down. "Reno, shut up, I can't concentrate." Focusing again, she was about to release the materia's power when Rude swerved to avoid another barrage of gunfire and as a result the blast sailed far wide of its target.

"Really..." Rude insisted. "You should help me. I like help."

"Reno!" Yuffie yelled, exasperated and ducking as Elena fruitlessly fired off her pistol. "Would you shut the fu-" Looking down at what Reno was trying so hard to roll off of, Yuffie's voice caught in her throat. "Hey, Lena?"

"What?"

"Can you use a rocket launcher?"

"Yeah, that'd be just great right about now."

Yuffie hefted the weapon's storage box out from underneath Reno and placed it between her and Elena before concentrating on her Bolt spells again. "Ahh, the benefits of stealing military issue jeeps."

Elena blinked in disbelief a couple times before loading up the devastating weapon and hoisting it out of the window. "Yes, this will do just fine."

"Toldja." A small voice piped up from the floor.

* * *

Luckily for Cloud's group, only a single jeep had been following theirs. A combined blast of Tifa's Fire spell and Red's Bolt had ripped the A.E.C. jeep apart behind them. Reaching the Highwind, the group was out of the stolen vehicle nearly before it had stopped moving. Cid rushed to the ladder of the ship, while Cloud secured the ground.

"We need to get this piece ready to roll Right now!" Cid yelled, his crew scrambling with last second preparations. As the Captain reached the wheel of the massive airship, Rude's jeep tore out of the Gongaga city, its pursuers entirely dispatched as well. Red vaulted himself from the vehicle and tore towards the Highwind, his ascent being secured by Vincent while Rude and Elena carried Reno towards the ladder with Yuffie watching their backs from any sign of lingering assailants. Rushing everybody into the hull of the ship, Cid pulled up hard against gravity and AVALANCHE and the Turks were gone. Breathing a collective sigh of relief, they all composed themselves.

"Alright..." Cid lit up a cigarette. "So who's alive now?"

* * *

Davis approached Alexander standing alone in his office. The president spoke first. "Did they suspect anything Davis?"

"No sir. Once the Highwind had entered our airspace our own ships moved out. We feel AVALANCHE was more than sufficiently distracted with their own espionage attempts."

"Outstanding. Shame to lose Kassidy like that though. Almost." Davis couldn't help but cringe at his employer's callousness. Still, he knew what he had signed up for. "How long until we're ready to operate."

"Only a matter of hours really. Just as soon as all the teams check in. If intelligence was only half right, we'll have no problems securing all objectives. Security has been waning with a lack of manpower and interest over the last three years. We couldn't hope for a better time. The only possible complication will be Junon."

"But?" Alexander inquired.

"But that is why we sent the largest force of high quality ex-SOLIDER there, Sir."

"What about Wallace?"

"A specific team has been dispatched to secure the newest objective in Corel in addition to the original squad."

"Again, outstanding." Alexander turned and smiled. "I'm going to go see Kaylynn. Be ready to open communications with Reeve first, then the other world leaders."

* * *

The Highwind sailed majestically towards Rocket Town while the group stood over Reno's fairly unmoving, but quickly healing body.

"So..." Tifa was the first to speak. "How'd you get out of Midgar."

Reno blinked a couple times, trying to remember. "Ohhhh man..." he trailed off.

"What?" Yuffie asked.

Reno covered his eyes with his hand. "Reeve's gonna be so pissed."

Cloud looked down at the Turk exceptionally disapprovingly. "Why?"

"I kinda sorta shot three or four of his people."

"What?" Cloud exclaimed furiously.

"I didn't kill them." Reno held up his hands. "Just gave them a little incentive not to follow me is all."

Cloud and Cid left the room disgusted with the Turk. "Goddamned murderer..." The pilot murmured as he departed.

"So how did you get out anyway?" Elena asked this time.

"Oh that." Reno spoke nonchalantly. "Just climbed out really. Piece of cake... Then I followed you guys around for a while. Great funeral by the way." He winked at Yuffie.

"You were there for that?" Yuffie's eyes widened.

"Yeah... The dog-cat-thingy recognized me too, but was smart enough to keep quite about it." Reno reached over and patted Red's head. "Good boy."

Red growled at the injured man. "If you do that again, I'm afraid I'll be forced to become increasingly aggressive."

Reno whistled as the beast's polite ferocity and retracted his hand. "You got it. So what did you guys find out at A.E.C. that I don't know yet."

"Nothing." Vincent spoke. "They are responsible for all our recent tribulations and must be dealt with."

"Yeah," Yuffie added. "And now they have that Tseng guy to help."

"No!" Elena protested. "That isn't Tseng..." she trailed off. "It Can't be him."

Rude put his arm around her shoulders and looked at Reno. "Kaylynn is involved."

"I know, I saw her. It's been years."

"About three and a half." Rude responded.

* * *

Alexander entered the lab to find Kaylynn speaking with Tseng quietly. 'Likely inciting memories that will never emerge. Lord, will she never move on?' he thought to himself.

"Any luck?" The president asked, forcing a sense of encouragement into his voice.

Dr. Howari looked up coldly. "No, not yet."

"That's a shame. Truly. But if you're quite done, I'm going to need him ready to go soon. The next phase of the operation is nearly upon us, and I'm growing increasingly concerned with AVALANCHE's and the Turks roles in this little drama.

"I told you not to get them involved." Howari spoke smugly.

Alexander bit down the rage that emerged in his throat. Since Tseng's... revival the doctor was becoming less and less tolerable in her rejection of his advances. His patience was wearing thin.

"Regardless. Have him ready to go."

After Alexander left the room, Kaylynn Howari turned back to the incarnation of her husband that sat with her. "Now... Where were we?"

* * *

Reeve sat in his office, futilely attempting to work his way through a daunting amount of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk. Try as he might to ignore it, his mind consistently found itself wondering how his friends were doing as that exact moment, and his eyes kept moving towards the drawer in the middle right of his large and well furbished desk where he knew the controls to Cait Sith lay. 'Maybe I should have broke the cat out of retirement. They need all the help they can get.' Reeve shook the pessimism out of his mind and tried to get back to the task at hand. 'Who am I kidding, they'll be fine. I've just been working too late this past week.' He looked over at the clock and considered finally going home instead of falling asleep in the office again.

It was at this moment that Andrea stuck her head into his office. "Mr..." she started before catching herself with a smile at his playfully disapproving raised eyebrow. "Reeve, there's a Corin Alexander on the line for you." Reeve's smile disappeared at the mention of the A.E.C. President's name while a cold feeling of dread gripped Reeve.

"Thank you Andrea. I'll take it immediately."

* * *

The guard outside of the Mideel electric whistled to himself softly as he did his nightly singular patrol of the grounds. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary... as per usual... he headed back inside for his nap. He would only get halfway before the blow struck him viciously and he crumpled into the grass. A few sharp hand-signals later, and the A.E.C. espionage team moved quickly into the facility.

The guards all around the world fared about as well as the Mideel one did, if only increasing in number rather than security. Quickly enough facilities in Wutai, Kalm and Junon came under the control of A.E.C.'s troops. Even in Rocket Town, the Rocket itself was secured stealthily enough.

In Corel, the A.E.C.'s BlackOut troops split from their drop point. Half of the men moved quickly to the key structures that intelligence had tagged weeks ago as in the other cities, while the other half moved to the residence of Barret Wallace to secure what Alexander had referred to as a "bargaining chip."

* * *

"Corin." Reeve put on a false sense of warmth. "What can I do for you my friend."

On the other side of the phone, Corin Alexander laughed to himself. "Oh come now Reeve. We're both well aware that neither of us considers the other a friend. In fact, this phone call will only serve to prove that."

Reeve's voice went dark. "What do you want?"

"I want you, and all the other major electric companies, to sign over complete ownership to A.E.C. and willingly come under my control. Co-operate, and I may even let you keep your job."

Reeve couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. "And just why would I, or anybody for that matter, do something as foolish as that."

"Simple..." Alexander paused with confidence. "Because as of right now, Mako enhanced bombs replicated from the technology of the Sister Ray have been planted and secured in key points around the world. Don't worry" Alexander cut Reeve off from speaking. "I'll be speaking with the leaders of Mideel, Wutai, Kalm, Corel and Rocket Town soon enough."

Reeve thumbed the silent alarm under his desk to summon his head of security. "And I suppose you have control of Junon as well, or I wouldn't be speaking with you right now."

Alexander chuckled. "Reeve... I made sure Your bomb was the biggest. Oh, and if you try to have your AVALANCHE friends get involved, a Mr. Wallace and his daughter have both been secured by my men, with orders to eliminate at the slightest provocation. I expect an answer within twenty-four hours Reeve. Good bye." And with that Alexander hung up.

Reeve's personal head of security burst through the office door flanked by five men all brandishing weapons and searching for potential threats.

"It's alright James." Reeve spoke while rubbing his temples with his eyes closed. "There's no immediate threat... yet."

"Sir?" James questioned as he holstered his handgun. Reeve explained the situation. By the time he had finished, the department heads had all been called in from home or their office to Reeve's in order to properly handle the situation.

"Sir, should we contact the other cities?" Johnston, the head of Junon's military questioned.

"No." Reeve answered. "Not yet, Alexander is likely doing that right now." The President of Shin-ra looked thoughtful for a moment. "But I want you to get the military together and ready to be deployed to each of the mentioned cities at a moment's notice. And we must begin immediately searching for where Alexander has planted his bomb here in Junon. Right now, that should be our top priority." Moments later Reeve's personal line rang. "Reeve here."

"This is Godo. Have you spoken to Alexander?"

"I have. My military is preparing and willing to assist Wutai and the other cities at a moments notice."

"The sentiment is appreciated my friend, but Wutai's own forces will be sufficient enough to handle Gongaga riff-raff. Save your forces for those without an active military."

"Thank you Godo. Good luck."

"What of AVALANCHE." Wutai's emperor inquired.

"I was told not to get them involved. Apparently they've captured Barret."

On his end Godo frowned deeply. "Surely you won't leave them in the dark about this."

"No, they're bound to find out soon enough. It would be best that I prepare them for the worst." Reeve set his mouth in a thin line of determination as his personal lines lit up with calls from the other world leaders. "Godo, I have-"

"Say no more friend. You have your problems to attend to, and we'll deal with ours as well as assisting where possible. Keep in touch."

"Thank you." With that, Reeve switched lines and began conversing with other leaders not so different from himself.

Johnston re-entered the room. "All forces ready to dispatch, Sir."

"Thank you." Reeve spoke into the receiver before hanging up. "Very good Johnston. Send our men to Mideel, Rocket Town and Corel."

"What about Wutai and Kalm, sir?"

"We'll leave those to Godo and his men. They'll be capable enough, I'm sure. As of right now," Reeve picked up his PHS. "I have some close friends to call."

* * *

The Highwind had landed in Rocket Town a few hours after sunset, and the group was still unsure of the next course of action. Shera had heard the ship coming in, and already prepared large amounts of tea while AVALANCHE and the Turks sat around Cid's refurbished home.

"So, any ideas?" Cloud asked the group. He was met with silence. "Yeah, me neither." Just then, the PHS picked its moment to ring. The group looked slightly confused at the sound, before Cloud shook his head and realized it was his. "Sorry, that's me. Hello?" he spoke into the device. "Reeve? What's the matter?" Cloud's eyes went dark as he listened intently. The group looked about, none of them having the slightest idea what was going on. After a few minutes, Cloud finally spoke again. "I understand. I'll call you back when we've come to a decision. Thank you Reeve." There was genuine gratitude in Cloud's voice for his friend. He hung up the PHS.

"What's the matter honey?" Tifa asked, clearly concerned.

"Alexander contacted Reeve. He's holding the world hostage."

"How?" Cid asked between sips of tea.

"He's set up Mako bombs in cities around the world."

Tifa was horrified. "We have to stop him."

Cloud looked over with concern written blatantly over his face. "We can't. They have Barret."

"Mother fucker." Cid spat out.

"That certainly does complicate things." Red added.

"So how do we do this?" Yuffie asked.

"I don't know. He's got bombs in Mideel, Wutai, Kalm, Junon, Corel and..." Cloud paused as he looked at Cid and Shera. "Here." He finished.

"Goddamn." Cid ground his cigarette out. "Well, looks like I'd better start moving people outta the city."

"Reeve's sending men to each of the cities except for Wutai and Kalm. Godo has them covered."

Yuffie couldn't help but smile with pride at Cloud's information. "So again, how do we do this."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Reno spoke up from the back. "Why do 'we' have to do anything?" This isn't some of our usual crap, this is directly taking on an army. This is outta our league."

"But we can't sit back and do nothing Reno." Tifa implored.

"Maybe you can't but the Turks are smarter than that." He looked over at Rude and Elena. "Come on, let's go."

"Reno..." Elena started sheepishly. Rude placed a hand on her shoulder showing his support. "My parents are in Mideel..." she trailed off.

Reno looked at her in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me." He threw up his arms in disgust. "Fine, you two wanna die, you go right ahead. I'm out." And with that, he started to leave the home.

"Well, I just think you're scared." Cloud taunted Reno's retreating back. The Turk froze.

"What did you just say?" The voice was calm, and Reno's head did not move.

"I said 'I think you're scared'." Cloud repeated. Yuffie looked back and forth between the two.

"Shin-ra tried to break me... and I came back." Reno's voice remained eerily calm. A slight turn of the head and the hair about his face shifted. "Hojo drove me to the brink of insanity..." Another pause, as his voice rose. "And I came back."

Reno turned completely to face Cloud once more, the intensity and rage swelling with each word. "Midgar buried me alive!" Cloud flinched. "And I Came BACK!" Reno's voice reached new heights.

A silence settled over the group as nervous eyes shifted between Reno and Cloud. Again the Turk's voice took an unsettling, placid tone. "What makes you think there's anything left on this fucking planet that can scare me now."

Reno turned and walked out of the room.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – I'm Ready to do the Right Thing

When Reno left the room, he slammed the door behind him, as the group looked around at each other in awkward silence. Yuffie stood up. "I'm going after him." First she looked to Rude, then to Cloud for approval. She received a nod from each, however reluctant the latter's was. Jogging out of the house, Yuffie found Reno lighting up a cigarette not far from Cid's home.

"Reno, wait." She implored.

"Yeah, yeah, I ain't going anywhere."

Yuffie slowed down to a walk and stopped a couple feet from his back. "Are you alright?"

She watched Reno sigh deeply as his shoulders sagged. "You lie a lot right?"

"What?" Yuffie was confused, and a little insulted.

"I'm just asking, you've been known to tell a lie here or there."

"No, of course not." Yuffie shook her head furiously. Reno glanced back at her with a very skeptical look. "Well... Maybe sometimes..." she finished weakly.

"Right..." Reno took a deep drag on his cigarette. "So when you tell the truth it's usually pretty trustworthy.

Again, the younger woman was surprised. "Yeah, I- I guess so."

"Good. So then... Am I wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

Yuffie was hesitant to answer. "Yes. You are wrong."

"...Fuck..."

"I know." Yuffie stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder. Cid then picked this moment to come out of his home and begin the evacuation of his town.

"Fuck, I don't have enough cigarettes for this shit." The pilot said as he passed.

"Hey." Reno's voice stopped him and he turned around, a quizzical expression on his face. "Here, take these, I've got plenty." Reno held out a fresh pack of cigarettes to the mayor.

"The hell?" Cid held them up and squinted. "I've never seen this brand before... probably terrible." He looked at Reno. "Uhh, thanks."

"Yeah, well I figure if I can't outright kill you, I may as well go subtle."

Yuffie slapped Reno across the back of the head, but Cid only laughed. "Later, you two."

Reno and Yuffie stood in silence for a couple moments watching Cid's retreating back fade into the dark of the night.

"You know, we should probably have a last romantic evening together before we head off into our last stand." Reno said, a disgusted look on his face.

"Yes, we probably should." Yuffie agreed. "But we won't, will we?"

"Do you want to?" Reno asked, turning to look her in the eyes.

"I do. I really do." Yuffie answered honestly, placing an open hand onto his chest.

"I'm sorry then. Really, I am." Reno reached up and encircled her hand with his. He held it closely for a second with his eyes closed. "Alright, that's enough of that." His eyes opened again and he left her hand go. Tapping her on the ass, Reno passed Yuffie and headed back into the house.

"Think you're able to handle this?" Cloud spoke as Reno re-entered with Yuffie right behind him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I hope you managed to slap together a half decent plan while I was out there. I know it's tough when the brains of the operation leaves."

"We were fine thanks." Cloud turned back to the group. "Alright, so we all agree then. Elena, Rude, I want you two in Mideel. Are you going to be ok with that?"

Elena understood the hidden question. "I'll do what needs to get done. My parents won't be an issue. I'll just save them with everybody else."

Tifa smiled softly at the blond. "They're in good hands."

Cloud nodded. "Good. Obviously Rocket Town is Cid's. No questions asked."

Red spoke up. "Do you think it's wise to be sending people to locations with personal attachments?" He ignored Elena's look. She knew he was right to ask.

Cloud leveled a sincere look at his friend. "I think we should be grateful for every ounce of motivation we can get." Red nodded in understanding. "Vincent, I want you in Corel while Cait Sith and I will handle Junon." Cloud continued. The group was surprised at the mention of the robot's name. "Reeve wants to be involved." Cloud supplied.

"I'm going after Barret." Tifa added impatiently. "And I'll do it alone."

"No you won't," Cloud spoke sternly. "Marlene is with him. I want you to go with Red so that he can get her out of there quickly if need be. Which leaves Wutai to Yuffie and Kalm to Reno."

"Nobody is going to Gongaga?" Cid asked as he walked back in. He had just finished alerting the neighbors. They knew what to do from there. You don't build a town around a potentially explosive device without having an evacuation plan in place. 'We should be in the safe zone by the first cigarette' Cid would shout in drills. "Shouldn't we be goin' right after this jackass."

"Yes and no." Cloud was ready for the question. He had thought it through himself, a thought that had been running through his mind constantly in the last half hour. "Our priority is the protection of the city and civilians. However," Cloud paused and took a moment to meet the eyes of everyone in the room. "Once you complete your objectives and take back the cities, we'll all meet outside of Gongaga and go in as a group. Then first one to Alexander gets him."

___________________________________________

The Highwind was pushing itself at top speed, but nobody could hear the wail of the engines, each lost in their own thoughts. Even the crew understood the magnitude of what was happening in their world at that moment and how the survival depended on the success of both Shin-Ra and AVALANCHE. The irony was not lost. Wordlessly the airship passengers departed.

Vincent touched down in Corel. The members of the Shin-Ra army he was assigned to had no idea that he had even arrived until he was at the head of their formation. As much as the ex-Turk wanted this to be a black ops mission, he knew time was of the essence. He made a point not to meet the eyes of any of the men he was with. Many of them would not survive and the burden would be heavy enough without the memories. Loading his weapon, the group charged into strategic positions surrounding the Mako facility.

Moments later Tifa and Red were dropped into the center of the town within a mile of the mayor's home. Reeve's intelligence had been able to determine the location of Barret and his daughter. Rather than removing them from their home, Alexander merely took control of it. Tifa broke into a dead sprint, Red running alongside her, forcing himself to maintain his pace and not to race ahead.

___________________________________________

Elena and Rude found themselves in front of the most loosely guarded complex in Mideel. Apparently Alexander had felt much security was not necessary in the protection of such a small town. Still ahead of the Shin-Ra troops, Elena's impatience quickly got the best of her. "We're going in." She spoke simply as she loaded her gun up with ammunition and material. Rude did not bother to argue with her, opting to adjust his sunglasses and lead the way instead. The first guards went down in a quiet heap.

___________________________________________

By the time Elena and Rude infiltrated their target, Cid had begun cleaning house in his own backyard. The Rocket Town citizenry was quick to rise to arms rather than be evacuated by their mayor and prepared themselves in anyway they could. It would be a foolish tactic, but the townspeople's sheer numbers were too much for the A.E.C. BlackOut troops. Cid led the way himself, swearing, stabbing and punching anything that he didn't like.

By the time Cloud arrived in Junon however, the army had proceeded without him and was led by Cait Sith, Reeve's voice barking out orders through the mechanical mega-phone, his own excitement burning into his words.

"That's right," The cat danced on the moogle. "Bring them down, bring them all right the hell down."

Cloud raced up, cutting down troops where he could help, healing any friendlies along the way. Just as Alexander had assured Reeve that he saved the largest bomb for him, his pride forced a concentration of his own men into Junon as well. Cloud did not enjoy the cutting down of so many enemies. But he didn't hate it either.

___________________________________________

Despite their fewer numbers, the Wutai troops were incredible in their proficiency. Not since the beginnings of the Wutai-Shin-Ra war had the people of the great nation been so incensed in the defense of its land and people. Yuffie made her way to the front lines on Chocobo to find her father leading the assault.

"Godo, what the hell are you doing here?" Yuffie's anger turned to concern as she noticed his limp right arm and the blood that stained the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he shouted loudly of the clash of weapons and gunfire. "Now stop talking and hit something."

___________________________________________

Reno swung his nightstick idly, angry that he had missed the fun. A.E.C. could not afford many more troops in Kalm and they were quickly dissipated by the Wutai warriors. Even now as he smoked outside of the location of the bomb, he considered his next steps. He also considered whether or not standing within spitting distance of a bomb was a great idea either, but that wasn't really under his control. Shrugging and discarding what was left of the cigarette, Reno asked to be taking to the Shin-Ra helicopter that had brought the bomb squad specialist to the city. After receiving directions, he sauntered off in that direction.

___________________________________________

Despite the superior weaponry and advanced tactics of Shin-ra forces, it was to be the Wutai warriors that attended to their business first. Yuffie's Conformer flashed briefly and rarely as few attackers made it past the honor guard to assault the Lord and his daughter. Completely over-run the A.E.C's forces began to fall back to the location of the bomb, saving the Wutai forces the time necessary to find it themselves.

Understanding the situation and receiving a nod of approval from her father, Yuffie cast one last sleep spell on a retreating Blackout troop and tore off in the direction of the Shin-ra helicopter that had brought her back to her homeland. The wind whipped the hair around her face, her eyes cold and determined. Too many times Wutai had been assaulted by foreign invaders, too many times in her lifetime even, much less in the great history of her nation.

"Never again." She spoke to herself, the words lost on the wind. Even if it cost her dearly, she would make an example of Alexander. He was hers. He was Wutai's.

_____________________________________________

Vincent fired a few more times. The contingent he led had done surprisingly well for themselves he thought. Leaping across a corridor with long bounds, he fired as he sailed through the air. His sweep of the hallway complete, he signaled back at his men to follow. He heard the gunshot too late and spun, feeling the heavy pressure burrow into his arm. Suddenly the Death Penalty was too heavy for him and it hit the ground followed mere moments later by his own blood. 'Careless,' he thought, gritting his teeth against the pain. Rolling quickly, he found cover as his position was showered by splinters of debris from the gunshot. Vincent knew he would not die, not here. He wasn't afraid of that. What Vincent was afraid of was the voice inside of him, the pressure and pain inside of him that welled up and threatened to devour him and all those around him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, forcing the feeling back down inside of its cage where it could tempt him some other day. The troops that he had been so worried for took care of his assailant.

The commanding officer approached the prone Vincent, mistaking the mask of concentration on his face for one of pain. "Are you all right, sir?" He asked with an unmistakable Junon accent. "The area just got the 'all-clear'. Do you need a med-evac?"

"No," Vincent spoke, opening his eyes and rising to his feet. "But I will need someone to carry my gun for me."

_______________________________________________

Elena led her parents out of Mideel being covered by Rude, his broken sunglasses hanging on for dear life from his face. She thought back to the infiltration.

The moment they'd entered the building, the two Turks were under immediate fire. And not gunfire, there was a legitimate Fire spell launched at their faces the moment the door opened. Rolling through the flames, the couple came up with their guns blazing and Elena's hair was slightly singed for the effort.

Rude pulled up along side Elena and sniffed the air. "I hate the smell of burnt hair," he said.

"Yeah, well, I hate the smell of burnt bald," Elena looked down as she ran.

"That's not funny," Rude said pointedly and didn't notice the fist until it was too late. The A.E.C. troopers punch landed square in the middle of Rude's sunglasses, snapping the bridge. His head rocked, but he did not go down. "And you're very distracting," he added to Elena. Grabbing the man by his still extended arm, Rude applied pressure to the elbow until there was an audible pop and scream of pain. As the arm changed direction at the elbow, Elena's foot caught the side of the man's knee. Crippled, he crumbled. The two carried on. They could hear the fighting outside that signaled the arrival of the Shin-ra troops. Ducking into a side alcove, the two waited as the majority of the remaining guards were pulled to defend the outside of the fortification. With those troops gone, securing the explosive itself was no issue. Rude was the first to notice that the device was wired for remote detonation.

Elena's thoughts snapped back to the moment she was in and she held her mother a little closer while they evacuated with the rest of Mideel. "He's cute," her mother spoke.

"Not now, mama."

________________________________________________

Tifa approached the building quietly, Red tense by her knees. She knew that despite the fact that they had been the first dropped, it would not be long before Alexander heard of AVALANCHE's involvement and possibly go through with his threat. Fear gripping her again, Tifa finally ditched stealth for speed and dashed for a side door. She knew the home well and knew where she needed to go. Wordlessly, Red joined her.

Tifa spoke to Red as her foot connected with the jaw of the surprised man standing near the door in black gear. "Once we're in, you grab Marlene and get the hell out of here."

Red regained his balance after plowing his full weight into the other man that was stationed at the entrance. "Very well. Please be careful," he spoke as he rushed into the house, separating from his companion. He did not look back to see Tifa. He had no doubts that he would see her again. The only thing the great cat had on his mind was bringing a scared little girl to safety. Bursting into the room where the Shin-ra recon had determined Marlene was being held, Red pulled his muscles taught and strained his eyes to find his target.

In the middle of the room was an unfamiliar, unremarkable man that was patting Marlene's head. "There you go sweetie," He handed her a sucker. "I'm so sorry about this. I'll go get your dad now, ok?"

Marlene nodded and smiled through the tears that remained. Red could only imagine the terrifying ordeal the young girl went through. He kept a wary eye on the stranger in the room, who finally noticed him.

"Red right?" The cat bared his teeth as the man addressed him. "I'm glad it was you that found me. I hear how much respect you have on the world stage." The man smiled a very sad smile. "My name is Davis, and I'm ready to do the right thing."

Tifa's feet and fists sailed through the air in a barrage of fury that could be barely contained in her lithe body. The devastating blows buried the men in front of her who had long abandoned trying to fire on so swift a target in the close-quarters location. Hand-to-hand combat, as it turned out, was even less advisable. Throwing a man through a solid pine door, Tifa stepped through the hole in the wood and found Barrett on the other side bleeding from a wound in his head.

He looked up at her and smiled. "He got close enough for a good ole fashioned head butt," Barrett indicated the unconscious man at his feet. "Now get me out of here."


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – I Really Would Like to Play the Hero.

Alexander sat in his office and swirled his drink. Reports of AVALANCHE and the Turks were pouring in from his men around the globe. It was an even more co-ordinated assault than he had predicted. And he certainly had never expected to see the co-operation of Godo and Reeve move so quickly. 'Do the Wutanese people have such short memories,' he thought silently. Smiling softly and letting out a slight sigh, Alexander opened his PHS.

"Davis, are you there?" he spoke at a regular pace. "It's time to kill Wallace and his brat," he said as if asking a waiter to return a cold meal. "Answer me will you?"

No answer. Corin Alexander pulled the device away from his ear and looked at it. Full signal. "Dammit," he said, with some anger finally entering his voice. "It was supposed to be easier than this." He smiled again. "Well, you can't win them all. I guess I'll just have to blow up the whole God-Damned world so that they know I mean business next time.

____________________________________________

The Shin-ra helicopter containing Yuffie touched down on the outskirts of Gongaga as close to the Alexander Electric Company building as possible. She dove out into the dark grass and sped away as the air-craft lifted off. She knew that it would not be her ride home and told the pilot to go evacuate anybody that needed help. Using her weapon to pry open a ground floor window, Yuffie hesitated for a brief moment as she considered Cloud's order to wait for everybody before entering.

"No," she steeled her nerves again. "He is Wutai's and Wutai's alone." She moved swiftly into the building and dashed off down the hall. Meeting no resistance, she found the elevator quickly, pressed up and stepped inside, taking a second to catch her breath.

_____________________________________________

Cloud's Ice spell shattered the wall across from him. The last remaining pocket of resistance in Junon had bunkered down in a small room to wait it out. With the new hole in the wall, they were sitting ducks and they knew it. Throwing down their weapons, the A.E.C. blackout troops surrendered to Cloud and the Shin-ra military, asking only to be removed from the vicinity immediately. Cloud took this as a very bad sign. At his hip, his PHS began to beep.

"Cloud, it's Rude," the voice in the receiver spoke.

"Rude, how is Mideel? Did you get to the bomb? Is Elena alright?" Other than Cait Sith, this was the first contact Cloud had with his team since they split. His worry for the well-being of the others was evident.

"The bombs are remote."

"What?" Cloud yelled, not wanting to have heard correctly.

"Remotely detonated," Rude spoke in his usual way. "Clear out," There was an urgency that Cloud rarely heard in the Turk's voice. In any Turk's voice for that matter.

Just as his mind began to sort out the information handed to him, the PHS clicked off as the connection was severed. Staring at it for a moment, the bomb squad commander approached Cloud with his own version of the same bad business.

"It's remote bomb, Sir. Nothing we can do about it from here. We need to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible. I've already contacted the President and he's issued the evacuation order."

Cloud felt sick. Now more than ever he felt like he should have gone right for the source. Right for Alexander. His brain began to speed back up and he opened his PHS again. "I'll contact the other teams," he said to the commander. "You get that other chopper over here now, I need a lift," Cloud ordered.

______________________________________________

The evacuation calls came in quickly and people began to move. The entire planet was in an uproar. Few people knew the true ramifications of what was happening; if the bombs went off, it wouldn't matter how far out of town people got. All they could hope for was a miracle. AVALANCHE on the other hand, aimed to make their own fate. Suddenly the air space around Gongaga was fairly active. Between the Highwind and the Shin-ra choppers, the team was collected easily enough. The airships were quiet, no conversation was had. They knew what was at stake, who was at stake.

Cloud looked across at Tifa, Red and Barrett and made eye contact with the both of them. A silent, understood goodbye between friends was all that was needed for the four, just in case. They had done the same thing so many times now each had lost count, and they hadn't needed it yet. But it was necessary nonetheless. Despite his wounds, Barrett needed to be a part of this. They could never have hoped to convince him otherwise. Looking out the window of the helicopter, he could see the Highwind set down on the Gongagan soil where he knew the others were ready to depart.

_______________________________________________

"Kaylynn, the trouble makers are here," Alexander spoke into the intercom. "Be a dear and send out Tseng to deal with them, please."

_______________________________________________

Yuffie stepped off the elevator one floor below Alexander. Just like the precautions the old Shin-ra regime had, Alexander had adopted. It also gave a strong staging point for his personal body guards to gather and protect the one entrance to their employer. "Alright," Yuffie spoke with a smile as she looked them over. "Who's ready to fuck with Wutai?"

_____________________________________________

"Where are Reno and Yuffie?" Vincent asked, his arm hanging dead at his side still.

"Not sure," Tifa replied over the roar of the helicopters. "Do we wait?" She asked Cloud.

"Fuck no, we don't wait," Cid answered.

"He's right, let's go," Cloud confirmed. The group of weary but determined individuals stepped forward, only to have the front doors swing open and reveal a pristine, deep blue suit and raven hair.

"Oh shit," Barrett said.

"Tell me about it, this is crazy, yo," Cait Sith spoke beside him, the moogle raising it's fists defensively. "Do… Do we jump him?" The cat scratched his head with the megaphone. "I think we should jump him."

"Tifa?" Cloud looked for her opinion this time. Her eyes were set on their opponent.

"Yeah," She said finally. "We jump him."

_____________________________________________

Reno stepped out of the shadows and spied on the young woman that he felt he had been spending entirely too much time with. It was rare that he had an opportunity to admire her like this, in all her deadly beauty as she was a practical blur amongst her opponents. Knowing she wouldn't need the help, he just watched as the Conformer flew towards one poor fool and her armoured fist broke the nose of another. The weapon returned and a blaze of green light erupted as the lightning struck a small group that had stayed together.

"She really can throw down," Reno spoke out loud, knowing he would not be heard over the din of the battle in front of him. "She really, really can."

____________________________________________

By the time Kaylynn stepped out of the building, only seconds after her husband, Cait Sith was already down. The stuffed Moogle was already missing a leg and an arm, while the cat screamed for it to get back up.

Tseng's speed was incredible. The enhancements he had received made him both deadly and efficient. All recognition of past life was gone as he attacked, Elena and Rude simultaneously, delivering devastation blows to the nerves of the current Turks while ducking the singing blade of Cloud Strife behind him. Rolling backwards and launching himself up, his feet caught Cloud in the shoulder as the blond man spun away. The glancing blow alone was enough to knock Cloud into the dirt.

Fire burnt the ground where Tseng had been standing a moment before. Instead, Barrett's magic found it's target high above the group after he had apparently used Red XIII for a springboard, the cat groggy on his feet. Growling, Red took another step and then collapsed with an obvious concussion. Barrett held the material tighter and concentrated again, aiming where Tseng was going to be, not where he was. Immediately on landing, Tseng recognized the attack and dodged to the right, directly into the Bolt spell supplied by the injured Vincent.

Kaylynn couldn't help but be impressed by the way Vincent had used Barrett's spells to force Tseng into a vulnerable position. And as much as she wished Alexander to fail, she loved to see her husband succeed. Shrugging off the spell, Tseng was from behind by Cid, who quickly received a suit-covered elbow for his trouble. Rolling into a better position, Tseng drove his elbow down into the head of the pilot one more time, feeling the older man go limp underneath him.

Cloud and Tifa moved together. Tifa was amazed. Try as she might, she hadn't even gotten close to him yet and he had already dropped half the group. She already knew that Barrett and Vincent were sitting ducks and that this would come down to her. It would have to come down to her. Even as she thought, Tseng launched himself towards the two injured men, targeting Barrett first. Though incapacitated, Vincent was still mobile and stepped in between his friend and the attacker. Bringing up his golden claw, the metal prosthetic was knocked away by a kick and strong punch to the wounded shoulder brought the ex-Turk to his knees with a silent scream. Barely acknowledging Barrett, Tseng twisted his fist on the wound and drove his knee into Vincent's solar plexus. Tifa noticed the woman watching and remembered what Elena and Rude had told her. Sprinting to her, Tifa knew it would come to this.

"You have to stop this," the martial artist yelled at the doctor as she grabbed her by the shoulder."

"I can't," Dr. Howari said, shocked and afraid. "He was born for this."

Noticing the altercation between the women, Tseng deftly avoided Cloud's sword and brought his foot around to collide with the ex-SOLDIER's head. Cloud ducked quickly and was able to bring his elbow into the mid-section of his opponent and a brief flash of shock and surprise registered on Tseng's face. Flipping over Cloud, Tseng sprinted towards Tifa and Kaylynn, winding up. Tifa saw the assault coming and dodged, readying herself for the onslaught that was surely to follow. Instead, she watched as Tseng froze in his spot. On the ground in front of him was a crumpled and bloody Dr. Howari who had not proved to be as nimble as Tifa.

Tifa looked from the doctor to Tseng and noticed the look of horror on his face. Kaylynn noticed it as well. "You remember me!" she yelled as her 'husband' took a step backwards. "You remember me now, remember that you could never want to harm me," she wiped the blood from her nose. Tseng stood a moment longer. "I remember too sweetie, don't be afraid."

As Dr. Howari spoke one last time, the horror on Tseng's face did not disappear. Instead, the man turned and bolted for the nearest woods. Tifa and Cloud took a step to follow but decided against it. They had more important things to worry about. Cloud went to his teammates while Tifa went to the doctor.

"It's ok now," Howari spoke to herself in a disconcerting manner. "He remembered, so it's ok now. Don't be scared honey. Don't be scared. I love you too."

"Are… Are you alright?" Tifa asked. The doctor looked up at her.

"It's ok now. He remembered," this time she was speaking to Tifa. "Now he can go in peace. Now I can let him go."

"What do you mean?" Confused, Tifa looked over her shoulder to see Cloud helping those who were conscious enough to move.

"His body. It's not meant for the strain we put it through. He's degrading," Howari said, again talking mostly to herself. "But at least he remembered me."

_______________________________________________

Yuffie stepped over the body of the last guard and kicked in the door to Alexander's office. He was seated, waiting for her.

In his right hand, he held a drink. In his left, a detonator. "If you take one step closer, I will destroy this planet."

Yuffie froze.

"Oops," Alexander said with a smile. "I lied."

Then he pushed the button.

_______________________________________________

"We have to get to Alexander," Cloud yelled to Tifa, who let Howari sink back down to the earth. "The others will all be fine, but we can't wait."

Tifa nodded once and ran in directly in front of Cloud.

_____________________________________________

Alexander sat with the same smile he had when Yuffie entered as the young ninja's face went from shock to anger.

"You – you monster," she stuttered.

Alexander took another sip from his drink. Then his face grimaced. He spun in his chair to face the monitors at the side of the room. "Where is the confirmation?" He asked himself. He pushed the button once again. Nothing. Frantically, Alexander began to panic as he hit the button repeatedly. "What the hell?" Alexander set his drink down as it finally dawned on him. Betrayal at last. "Davis… So Kassidy was right about you after all."

Alexander turned back to speak to Yuffie. He only had a second to blink before the foot collided with his head and flipped him backwards over his chair, spilling what remained of his drink all over the office.

Reno stepped into the room behind her.

Yuffie stood over Alexander's unconscious body, the rage flaring in her eyes as kneeled down and pressed the Conformer to his throat. Reno propped himself up against a nearby pillar and lit a cigarette.

"You've got him right where you want him, babe," Reno said. "One touch of that neuro-toxin in the right spot and nobody'll ever be any wiser. Just look like he had a heart attack, and we can walk away with no problems," Yuffie looked over at him, slight hesitation registering in her eyes that collided with the anger. "I mean, he's done so much to us all already, hasn't he? He deserves what he gets..." Reno spoke again, before taking a slow drag from the cigarette hanging lightly in his mouth. "He tried to nuke your home, take over the world, kill your friends. And now, here he is helpless, and you can make the world a better place with one stroke."

The sherukin came away from the limp body at her side as she looked over at the Turk, the anger slipping away from her.

"It's a good kill, right babe?" Reno spoke again. Yuffie stood up and backed away, looking down at the helpless man near her feet. He spoke once more. "Right?"

Yuffie looked over at him again. "But..." She felt lost and confused. "You've murdered people. You've killed so many people and..."

"Yeah..." Reno cut her off. "Wanna stay up with me some night and talk to them all?"

__________________________________________

Cloud and Tifa rushed out of the elevator and towards the stairs leading towards Alexander's office. They stopped at the bottom and looked up at the young girl descending slowly towards them. Yuffie had a look of relief and content on her face.

"Yuffie!" Cloud spoke first. "Are you alright? Where's Alexander?"

"It's ok Cloud," Yuffie answered with a smile. "It's over now. I took care of Alexander, his detonator didn't work and now Reno's tying him up," Cloud's PHS went off. "I bet that's Reeve calling to tell you that everything seems to be ok now."

Cloud lowered his sword and grabbed the PHS. Caller id read 'Reeve'. He smiled at his young friend and then Tifa.

___________________________________________

Corin Alexander came to and felt the ropes. Instinctively, he pulled against them but found them to be tied tight.

"Just once I'd like to play the Hero... Just once I'd like to do the right thing, you know?" Alexander looked up and saw Reno toying with the cigarette in his hand. He in turn looked down at Alexander, who still struggled with the ropes that bound him.

"Well here's your chance, isn't it Turk. To turn me in, to be the hero. But maybe that just isn't in you. Maybe it isn't you at all. I think you'd rather take the fifty million gil I'm about to offer you to set me free and become a paid bodyguard on my roster. Don't you want to go back to that? To go back to the glory days of Shin-ra, the most feared man in the world. Not some cheap mercenary working out of a run down tourist trap." Reno spun the cigarette in between his fingers, listening. "No, Reno, I don't think you're a hero at all. I think you just want money, and power. I can give you those things. What do you say?"

Reno looked thoughtful for a moment. "No."

"No?" Alexander looked surprised from his position from the floor. "You don't want my money?"

"No."

The surprise turned to anger. "And my power? I suppose you'll have nothing to do with that either?"

"Nope."

"So this is it then?" Corin raged. "You'll turn me in! You'll be the hero for a world that shunned you?"

"No." Reno leveled his gun at Alexander's head. "I never said I'd be the hero either."

The single gunshot froze the look of surprise that had resurfaced on the face of the President of Alexander Electric Company forever, the neat bullet hole in the forehead underplaying the destruction that had been caused by it. Reno, holstering his gun, turned away from the still bound corpse, and stuck a match on the nearby pillar. Breathing in deeply, he let the smoke curl out of his mouth and nose as he looked up towards the heavens.

"Y'know... Just once, I really would like to play the hero..."

_________________________________________

The three members of AVALANCHE had the smiles on their faces wiped away by the sound of the gunshot. Taking a quick second to share a glance at one another, they rushed up the stairs and threw up open the offices doors.

Once inside, all they found was the corpse of Corin Alexander and a single, still burning cigarette on the floor.

Yuffie's heart sank.


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue

"We still haven't seen or heard from him." Elena sat at the table across from Yuffie. It had been three weeks since the A.E.C. incident and they were still cleaning up the mess. All the trouble had incited people to worry about the possibility of Shin-ra returning to its old roots somewhere down the road. In his own way, Reeve was one of the biggest victims of Alexander in the end anyway.

Rude stood off to the side. "He'll turn up when he feels like it," the women looked at him. "Reno's like that."

Yuffie looked out the window at the dusk settling over Wutai. "I know, but I'm still worried."

Elena shared her look of concern. "I know, and Tseng is still out there. Somewhere," All three of them had been there when Tifa recounted what Howari had said to her, and all three had been there when they spoke to the doctor themselves. But they still didn't know what to think.

__________________________________________

Reno stood over his grave over looking Wutai. It was still unsettling to him, but only a little bit. He was waiting. He wanted to go home, but he needed to wait. There was one last thing to settle. As he toed the marker at his feet, he couldn't but think back on the part of his life that had been at the front of his mind for the last three weeks.

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

"I want to kill something."

Rude looked away from his still smiling partner. He knew that he had slowly been distancing himself from Reno. Rude had no qualms or regrets about the killing he had done, he knew that it was necessary for his own survival. But to enjoy it. That crossed the line from professionalism to psychotic.

"You don't look so good," Reno practically hopped across the room and stared at the larger man. Then he pulled out his switchblade. "Want doctor to take a look?"

Rude shoved him away and adjusted his tie. Then he walked out of the room.

Tseng was sitting at his desk when Rude came in. He held up his hand. "I know what you're going to say Rude," he motioned for the other Turk to sit down. He did not. "But there's nothing we can do about it."

"We can kill him."

Tseng's head shot up in surprise. "What?" he immediately composed himself. "You want to put him down..." Tseng began to understand. "Like a dog, because the Reno we know would never want to live like this."

Rude nodded.

"Shin-ra would never let us get away with it though," Tseng stood up and began to think out loud. This was one possibility he hadn't thought through yet. Thought all the way through at least. "After he told Heidigger Reno wasn't to be touched, there was no way around it. He hates to contradict himself." Tseng held his chin in though, his face looking down. "But if... yes, yes, that would work. We could do this."

"Are there any other options?" Rude asked from behind his sunglasses.

Tseng looked pained for a moment. "You know the treatment can't be reversed, you were there for Hojo's meeting. It's the same reason why I was able to get us out of it. The hold is too strong once it's been introduced into the body."

Rude shrugged. He knew that he had given up on that too.

"Alright," Tseng spoke, looking up at his friend. "It will take time to put a plan together. I'll deal with it after I take care of something with Aeris."

"The Ancient?" Rude clarified. "That business again?"

"Right. Except it seems like she's hooked up with another member of SOLDIER. An ex-member. The one you're supposed to find actually."

_________________________________________

"You're too late," Reno looked over at the mix of anger and horror on the faces of Tifa, Barrett and Cloud. "Once I push this button..."

"What's he doing?" the pilot yelled over the roar of the airship.

Tseng watched as a part of Reno hesitated. It was only for a moment, but it was there. "He's fighting it."

Inside of the earpiece in Reno's right ear, Heidigger's voice rang out loud and clear to Reno and Reno alone. "What are you doing, street rat?" he yelled. "Push the button. Push it!"

Reno watched as his hand slammed down on the final button. "That's all folks! Mission accomplished." Reno's brain lit up and his stomach felt like it was rolling over. As he fought with the pain, he barely heard Tifa's panicked voice ring out.

"We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barrett! Please!"

Reno felt himself slipping away again as he remembered his orders. "I can't have you do that." He pulled out his EMR and pushed the pain in his head away. "No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks..."

_______________________________________

"Is he alright?" Tseng asked the doctor, looking down at Reno. A sword wound in his left arm was still struggling to knit itself back together again, even with the help of a cure spell.

"Physically, he's fine," the doctor paused. "Well, as physically fine as you can be after taking a beating. But he's gotten up from worse than this."

Below them on the stretcher, Reno began to mumble and groan. "Seven... Seven... Sec... Sector Seven."

"What's he saying?" the doctor looked over at Tseng with a confused stare.

Tseng was fighting with mixed feelings. He knew that his friend would have pain and torment to deal with for the rest of his life. Despair and regret. These would never go away, not after this. But in the end Tseng smiled. Not because his friend was in pain, but because the pain was there, written clearly on his face.

"He's having a nightmare."

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

"Hello Reno."

'Shit,' Reno thought. He hadn't heard him show up. "Hey boss," he said as he turned around to face Tseng. "It's not like you to be late. I've been waiting here for three weeks now."

Tseng smiled slightly. "Sorry, I was sorting some things out."

Reno smiled too. "You look like shit."

Tseng's skin had lost most of its colour and was starting to peel. "You still don't know how to tie a tie."

"Good point," Reno's smile slid into a smirk. "You're here for a reason, huh?"

Tseng stopped smiling altogether. "You know I am. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"Are you sure about this?" Reno asked, his own mouth becoming a thin line as his eyes dropped. He didn't want to look at him anymore. "Wouldn't you rather be with Kaylynn? Or Rude? Elena?"

"You know exactly why you're here. I know exactly why you're here. We've both thought this through, haven't we?"

"Bull shit, I never think things through."

"Reno…" Tseng hesitated, looking for the words. "They wouldn't understand."

"Don't worry about it, boss. It's the least I can do. I'm just sorry that there isn't another option. Like there was for me."

Tseng walked over to look down at the marker that held his name. "You all have done real well. I'm honoured to have had you as colleagues."

The fire-red haired man clapped a hand on his companion's shoulder. "We're honoured to have you as a friend."

Tseng knelt down in front of the marker, suddenly looking very exhausted.

Reno stepped back and pulled out his gun.


End file.
